


Journey to the Eye of the Typhoon

by AndrewJohnston



Category: Kung Fu Panda (Movies)
Genre: Chi - Freeform, China's Emperor, Crane Focus, Drama in the Empire, Gen, Self-Esteem Issues, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-05
Updated: 2020-02-27
Packaged: 2020-06-11 12:06:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 11
Words: 89,470
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19537000
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AndrewJohnston/pseuds/AndrewJohnston
Summary: A typhoon is wild, untamable, and comes at the worst of times. But at the center of it, there is always a blooming Peach Tree, nervous of letting go of the beautiful crops decorating its crown. When the typhoon moves, the Tree has to decide; go with it, or keep to his roots. Most Trees would go, mesmerized by the typhoon's power. Not this one though. This one didn't learn Kung Fu for 20 years for that, and the rest of the Trees will make sure their roots are entangled for many years to come.





	1. The Typhoon's Dance

_Once, in the older times, China experienced its Golden Age. People always had something on their plates, art was flourishing, the empire was united as a whole and stable, and most of all; they were satisfied with their lives. It was all thanks to the hard work of the Emperors of the Zhao Dynasty. The glorious bloodline has produced ruler after ruler of great success; some were exceptional tacticians, winning battles with their ingenuity, sharp wit and the endless loyalty of their soldiers. Some of them were kind and righteous, strengthening the prosperity of the Golden Age and enjoying unity higher than what anyone could dream of. There were even great minds invested in the progression of technology, succeeding to reach a pace never seen before._

_But… as the teachings of the Tao goes, nothing exists without its counterpart._

_It was just a matter of time, before the Zhao Dynasty had a tyrant who combined the lust for strength with their inherited talents. Fan Lei, the 'God of War', as he called himself, was a merciless person. He spared none who dared to stand in his path for power and ruled with an iron fist, crushing his enemies with no remorse. Fan was hungry for influence and strength, so when he caught a rumor about a vase filled with Elemental Chi, the antithesis for the chi flowing in every living being, he gathered all his soldiers and took it with force._

_But he wasn't sated yet. He used this power to broaden the boarders of China to what we know today. Even a coalition of the neighboring countries couldn't stop him, and he came out victorious from every battle he fought. It is said a mere swing of Fan's hand was enough to decimate entire units of soldiers, winning the battle after such a demonstration of power. He was unstoppable._

_Until the Five Tortoises came._

_These wanderers swore their wisdom and allegiance to the Emperor for a place to live. Fan was distrustful towards the tortoises, not understanding why they would offer such an alliance when so many others opposed him. In the end, they gained his trust by helping him master Living Chi. Fan, delighted that he bettered his arsenal, realized that the five were true allies of his and shared his Elemental Chi with them as a return. He hoped that by giving them power, together they could take over the entire world._

_That was his first and last mistake._

_The tortoises attacked Fan while he was preparing for the first battle against an empire to the west. They restrained him and took away all his Elemental Chi, locking it inside the same vase Fan had got it from. The Emperor didn't survive the strain the extraction did to his body. They freed the world from a warmonger._

_Then came the question; who will become the next Emperor of China and take on the Mandate of Heaven? Fan had many heirs and heiresses, but things didn't go the way anyone expected. No one knows what happened behind those doors where the Grand Council met in the following few days, as they were secreted and never told to the public. Only the ones inside those doors knew, and all of them had taken the secret with them to the grave. What the people of China knew however, was that 5 days after the death of Emperor Fan Lei, a new dynasty reigned by the name of Honghe, with the family of the Kekao foxes in reign._

Oogway laughed at the recurring memory. The image of a group of youngsters with their caretaker sharing them this story shone vividly in his memory. The joy that pervaded his heart witnessing the scene was almost too much for him at the time; that people were keeping this tale from fading into the pages of a dusty scroll, hidden in the corner of Emperor's Palace. A pity it happened either way, and by now, nobody could recall much of the Golden Ages of China anymore. Oh well, it was still fun to battle young Fan, he sure put up a fight.

The shining of the memory fading, a question stood apparent; why did the universe decide for him to have this memory as a vision?

"Interesting indeed…"

Oogway closed his eyes and focused on his breathing, without musing about an answer. The universe would answer him, when it was time anyway.

"Inner Peace… Inner Peace…"

While he meditated under the peach tree, his home since his passing to the Spirit Realm, a lone petal detached itself from a particular healthy branch, and descended towards the elder tortoise. It swayed in the air steadily, having all the time in the world, until it found peace on one of Oogway's lone claws. Right in this moment, a playful breeze tickled his face, and the old tortoise found his face stretching into a smile.

"Very interesting indeed."

Oogway's sparking eyes opened and looked down at the quaint little petal.

"The continuation of one's fate and the beginning of another?" he asked himself, "I'll take two."

Young Po still had to face a new chapter in his story, but Oogway didn't fret. He was confident that both he and the other Chosen One were capable of finishing the tasks the universe handed out to them. Though, he guessed, the time may come when he has to lend a helping hand here and there. Oh well, he could at least amuse himself in their confusion. Those faces he gets when he shares his wisdom were his favorite part. He always found great amusement seeing Shifu get agitated whenever Oogway didn't give him a straightforward answer.

After all, where's the fun in that?

He continued smiling as the wind caught the cusp of the petal and disappeared with it on a great journey. He knew who the wind meant. The wind never blew in the Spirit Realm.

* * *

Let it be known that the Valley of Peace was a spectacular beauty. Be it because of the sugary pelt coating the streets with glistening gloss, or the fresh breeze of blooming life as the bushes and trees wake up from their slumber. Because of the way this life grows to its fullest in just mere months embraced by the arms of the yellow sky giant, or because how it all fades. This cycle of life was beautiful, because inevitability _is_ beautiful, and the valley was a place where fate was a common friend, thus coming in a full circle.

Right now, the circle was at a point where your friend was his majesty, the brilliant sun.

And the Valley knew it, evidence was the undergoing annual Summer Bazaar. The village only had one main street which was like a restless cord of colorful ants, where not a single one of those stayed in place. Proud people poured out of and into the different shops, items in hand they have traded for so skillfully. If you joined on this cord, you wouldn't be able to ask your questions as these ants were particularly rambunctious, trying to sell their merchandise and trying to get the attention of the locals or, dare I say, the Masters of Kung Fu. This was the time of the year, when merchants from all around China brought their most prized possessions here, hoping they could sell them, and maybe see these belongings as parts of the Jade Palace. It equaled a kiss from heaven and the greatest honor if something that had been yours became one of the many artifacts in the well-known center of wisdom.

One shop was a boutique, led by a local named Lao Shu, that specialized in selling the best of what the valley could offer to China. This was the part of the year where Lao's shop shined when it came to sales, the visiting merchants themselves loved a good souvenir from such a highly regarded place. Lao's shop just happened to be the best at it, the old goose had a knack for collecting masterfully crafted objects and how to use these to interest the visiting people.

Or, dare I say, the _Masters of Kung Fu._

Lao was old enough to know that boasting was nothing but the mischief of people's pride. He was an accomplished monger for many years; he knew that success was nothing but fading gold dust; it was pretty, _really pretty_ , but oh-so easy to be taken away. That's why he didn't let his head go up to the clouds, and that's why he was known as the 'humble grandpa' of the village. But even he couldn't deny that his heart jumped something akin to naïve cheer when none other than Master Crane and the Dragon Warrior stepped into his shop, politely greeting him with respectful bows.

And let's not talk about the fact when the lantern-lit wooden interior of the shop became just a little more alive when both found a particular item on one of Lao's shelves.

The elder goose was solely invested in the Dragon Warrior's highly infectious enthusiasm and his fast rambling on nothing but a pair of metal elbow pads, yet he made sure to keep an eye on the other customers too, especially on that fellow Master. Crane too had been invested at first, but then his eyes found an item in the corner, and the future suddenly intrigued Lao very much.

The item was a hand-crafted erhu. He found the instrument and its bow abandoned in the mud at the bank of the river Huang He, and he brought it back to the valley after seeing its marvelous design. Carvings of none other than cranes decorated its slim neck, depicting their flight towards the sun, which was the instrument's sound box painted as. It helped that the python skin and the strings were still in perfect condition. After a quick cleaning and a second option by a friend of his, well-versed in everything art, it became one of Lao's favorite items. But the question remained; who would buy it? He knew everyone in the village, and he also knew that no one played erhu, so no one would buy it. But here's the thing…

He intended to sell it in the village, _but not to a villager_.

So it was understandable why he was just around 90% invested in the Dragon Warrior's words. Maybe the instrument would finally find the owner who would cherish it better than anyone could. And when he noticed from his behind the counter seat Master Crane tip-toeing over to the corner, his eyes sweeping over the rest of the customers to make sure no one was watching him, Lao knew that he was about to witness an artist meeting with his destined weapon.

Crane, seeing that the rest of the shop were busy with either Po or whatever piece of pretty thing they laid their eyes upon, turned around and inspected what he would describe as his soul if it had a physical body. No, literally, this was his soul right there in all its beautiful glory. He raised a careful wing and touched the white string; they were taut, the tension in them perfect. He looked back at the owner just in time to see the elder chuckle in his raspy and worn out voice at something Po have just said. Crane smiled at the scene and made sure to remember to tell Shifu about this old man, the two could very well be friends.

But it was not a priority, not right now at least. Po was a distraction _and_ loud enough that maybe a little trial on the instrument wouldn't gather attention. Crane didn't actually know whether he was allowed to try the erhu and he was just making a big deal out of it, but at the moment he cared little. He set his mind onto one thing, and one thing only; to see if it sings as well as it looks. It mattered the world to him.

He took the bow in his talons, feeling a shiver shake his body by that smoothness never before felt. The part of his feet touching the bow tingled, Crane could swear he heard a playful giggle at the same time. Shaking his delusions out of his head, he put the bow above the strings and with a delicate pull; he made the note.

For all he cared, his breath could have stopped that moment and never come back.

The note may have been a subtle one, only his ears giving refuge to it, but that was enough. The note was… _more than enough_. Perfection was a word overused by people who haven't seen it yet. _This…_ this was beyond the medium of perfection. It flowed in the air like a miniature brush on a scroll, the pitch of it like the voice of his mother on a night interrupted by a nightmare; sweet, safe, mature, _loving_. Crane swore his sight would have colors never seen before, had it not been because his eyes were closed in bliss. He didn't need real life; he wanted this sound to be his reality. if Po's cooking was the best in China, then this was the Po's cooking of all that is art.

Is this what love felt like?

Trying to savor the godly sound as long as he could, yet be absolutely doomed to fail, a sigh escaped his beak. _Oh man_ , if the most basic note was like this, he could not wait to actually play it. He lifted the erhu from the table it had been with slow, mindful movements, the bow transferring onto his wings meanwhile. He certainly didn't think he was worthy to be holding this masterpiece that would be his soon. He just hoped he could afford it.

Walking up to the counter, his eyes squinted at Po. The panda was punching the air with a supply of comical noises that Crane supposed were the sounds of hitting somebody. The all so obvious metal elbow pads on his knuckles didn't really let the bird gain a clue of what was happening in front of him.

"If there's something that will never get boring…"

"Endearing, isn't it?" A light voice said from his right. Crane turned, his eyes lingering at Po for a second longer, before focusing on the source; the elderly goose.

"Are… you talking to me?" Crane asked.

The goose sent him a sideways smile as he watched the panda from his seat. "Why, is there anyone else I could be talking to?"

Crane, for the sake of argument, looked around the shop to see the rest of the customers minding their own business, still looking at the pieces of pretties and the panda's showcase of Kung Fu skills.

"The only one I would say is busy with… being endearing I guess," Crane replied, returning the elder's smile with a shrug.

"That we can agree on."

The two avians watched the panda relentlessly assault whatever enemy he imagined with those damn elbow pads of his. They apparently changed their functions to a pair of brass knuckles in the meantime, Crane guessed.

"The hero of China, huh? No wonder he is that good, nobody would even think twice about what this panda could do, leading them to their own demise," the goose remarked under his breath. Crane thought this was addressed to him, as the volume was barely loud enough to make out the words, and he was the closest. Yet he did, and he frowned upon it, which Lao caught at a glance his way.

"Is there something wrong with what I said?" the elder asked, and Crane looked up at those tired, yet happy eyes of a person who have seen all sides of the world.

"Well, I…" the avian Master began, looking away. A particular scratch on the wood of the floor was his new focus, "…don't believe in heroes."

That got the elder's undivided attention.

"No? Even if it's the Dragon Warrior? A friend of yours, maybe even family?"

Crane shook his head. "No. There are no heroes."

"Oh my," the goose said, finally facing his chat partner and extending his wing, "Name's Lao Shu, owner of this shop."

Crane eyed the appendage, before clumsily rearranging the erhu in a way that allowed him to reach over the counter and shake wings with the elder.

"Master Crane."

"That's your name? Or there is some fancy Kung Fu code saying that you must use your title before the elderly?"

Crane shook his head, a smile passing through his face at the small talk. "I'm used to using my title whenever I introduce myself. We all are, really."

"But you have a name?" Lao asked, and Crane offered a stern nod, yet the goose knew he wouldn't be getting it even if he pried.

"That's discipline right here. Can't say I disapprove," Lao said, his face searching the younger bird, "So about those damn heroes… Even when most China regards multiple people amongst them _, including Master Crane himself_ , you still go against it. Why?" Crane winced at the remained that yes, some actually thought of him as a big name. The smile left his face immediately.

"Because… most China looks at heroes as people who save the day from the evil and make everyone happy in the end. The person who makes the happy ending come true. But… is it really a happy ending, when not everyone is happy?"

Lao squinted at him. "So you mean, the heroes made the evil sad by doing a heroic act, and that's why they are not heroes?"

Crane snapped his head up, his beak shutting together in a loud clank. " _No_! Dear god, that's _not_ what I meant."

"Then what was it you meant? Need some detail here, these old feathers saw better days."

Crane sighed, finally deciding to put the erhu on the table. Slowly, for the sake of the instrument. "What I meant was, no matter how we look at a situation where a new victor takes a seat at the hall of heroes, there would always be a party of people who gets the short end of the stick. People who had no other choice, yet they still lost everything in the end."

"That's a… mighty claim to make young man. Am I right to assume you are talking from experience?" Lao asked, and heavy air found its way to his old lungs. The kind of heavy that doesn't pose a nuisance or a challenge, it just makes you wish to lie down and let go of everything.

Crane answered almost instantly. "I do."

"Ah."

Crane raised his head and connected eyes with Lao.

"…When the hero triumphs over the villain, he triumphs over anyone who supported them. But people forget that not all of those had a choice in the matter. Not all of them followed the villain's ideas or goals. What happens to those? They didn't want any of it, and they still lost. Where are they now, what are they now? They are alone. Ostracized. Hiding. Without a family. _With no one to hear them out._ "

…

"Did the Dragon Warrior triumph over such people?"

Crane kept silent, but Lao recognized the expression when one was in search for a particular memory. The taller bird's yellow eyes only blinked once in this pause. The elder could hear his own heartbeat, which only Po's audible mutterings from nearby and the shuffling of clothes by a different customer looking over the cloth shelf disturbed. Then the Master spoke, slowly, his voice strained.

"Lord Shen's wolves."

If Lao had eyebrows, those would have launched themselves off.

"…And you think since this happened to those wolves, your friend shouldn't be considered a hero?"

"Not with a capital H at least. But I do think Po is an _everyday_ hero. As in, he helps people daily. He does things like teaching the village Kung Fu, helping his father manage his noodle shop, cooking for us better and better meals on a daily basis - he even helps _us_ better our own techniques, without him knowing about it, because that's how good his training regime is. But it's not the same as a _Hero."_

"I cannot think of anyone as such if even a tiny fraction of the people involved are suffering unjustly."

Lao didn't reply to that. Of all his years trotting on the soil of China, he has never heard such a bold ideology from such a person like Master Crane. He _had_ heard sayings that every artist has at least one view on the world that was bold and maybe even questionable, but he just scoffed at it. Blatant generalization was never to his liking, but he guessed there may have been some truth to it. Master Crane himself had probably shared this view before, and experienced backlash for it, or hadn't and it was the first time he put it into words. His posture was surely not trying to hide anything; Beak pointed downwards, shoulders slumped, his limp wing resting on the sound box of the erhu, eyes distant and unfocused.

"But you think he is an everyday hero," the elder stated with a tilt of his head.

"Yeah, probably the biggest in China. He does _so_ much for everyone, getting back so little. But a hero? No, none of us are. There will always be a party in the hero's story who suffers."

" _Watchaaa!_ "

The conversation certainly stopped here. Because at the moment, barely centimeters divided Crane's face from a fist and an elbow pad strapped onto it, a right one if he wasn't blind. His body ceased to move, and his mind barely could process what had just happened.

"I got you _right between the eyes,_ " Po said, retracting his fist. Only now did Crane remember what blinking and speaking was.

"W-what."

"I said - and I wanted to say it for like ever - I _totally_ got you with these awesome knuckle shields! Maybe we need to improve your reflexes, don't we?"

Crane shook his head and blinked at Po. "Knuckle… shields?"

"Yeah. Look how cool they are!" the next thing Crane knew was that the two identical, but opposite in direction 'knuckle shields' filled most of his sight.

The avian sighed. At least Po didn't hear the earlier conversation.

"Po…"

"Yes?"

Crane pushed the panda's arms away from his face and clicked his tongue. "First of all, the thing you are talking about is 'brass knuckles'."

" _I knew_ there was a cooler name for these."

"And - if I can have the honor to say that - these are _not_ brass knuckles."

"Huh, wha'? But they are, like, meant to be here. Okay, it feels a little uncomfortable, but which weapon doesn't at first try?"

The look Crane gave him was flatter the Jade Palace's floor.

"I can think of a few examples. Like these elbow pads, designed for your, well, _elbow_. Let me help you," Crane unstrapped the piece of metal from Po's right fist, and reaching around, he re-strapped it on the panda's black elbow.

"There you go. Now you are half qualified to beat the super evil phantom who has been harassing your imagination," Crane said, offering the beginning of a smirk. His chest relieved at the annoyed, yet humorous look he was given.

"First of all, how dare you. Second, the super evil phantom is real. And when he attacks, guess who will be ready?" Po said, proudly pointing at himself.

"How foolish of me," Crane said, rolling his eyes fondly, "Until then, the fact remains that you spent most of your free-time hitting blank air with a misplaced piece of armor in front of a whole shop."

"Oh, don't be like that, every training is good training."

Crane shrugged and nodded. "Fair point. How does it feel?"

Po raised his arm and scrutinized the change in the system. " _Woah_ , it totally feels right there, but - wait, does this mean these are not weapons of mass destruction?"

Crane's urge to facepalm, or at least to tip his hat stood strong for passing second.

"No, I'm afraid not," Lao finally spoke up, and Crane admitted that he may have forgotten him being there. At least, the elderly goose was too busy with re-strapping the left pad onto the panda to notice his jolt.

Po held up his arms after receiving his fixes. "Huh. These look cool, for not-weapons."

A grimace flashed through the avian Master's face at the incredibly forced-sounding polite reply.

"Well, nobody said that," he spoke up, getting Po's attention, "I mean, if you elbowed someone with this, like a phantom, they sure wouldn't stand up anytime soon, right?"

Po's eyes (and pupils) widened in wonder, and Crane could swear he saw actual light shine from the panda's face. " _Whaaat?_ Please, Mister Shop Owner, do you have something I can try these out? I would be forever in your debt."

Lao pretended to be thinking, before smiling widely and nodding. He motioned to the shelf where the panda took the armor pieces from originally. His wing pointed at a small, white piece of paper on the dark brown of the wooden shelf.

"There, it lists the special conditions for the purchase of weaponry. Among them, it is stated that you are required to try them out before a decision was made. The target dummies are at the back, but I'm afraid you have to wait for them."

Po's face fell. "Wait? But why?"

"Well…" Lao said, chuckling at the panda's pouting. "I do need to attend to the other customers, and I have spent a lot of time in your company. Plus, I think your friend has already found what he desired, and he already tried it, so…"

Crane awkwardly smiled at Lao while stroking the item in question. "Hehe… sorry."

"No harm done. And it's not like I planned on selling it to anyone else…"

A loving smile graced the Master's beak as he looked down at his treasure. "Yeah, this is basically per - hold on, what? What do you mean?" But the elder ignored his question as he was already in the middle of a dialogue with a different customer.

Meanwhile, Po raised his head as he interpreted this new information. His eyes went from Lao to Crane, and to the erhu under his wing.

"Oh. What's that?"

The perplexed Crane turned to Po, before registering the panda's words and looking down at the item.

"An erhu. It's just an instrument, really," he said, removing his appendage to help the panda see.

"Woah, an actual instrument? Plays music and all?" Po asked, leaning closer to the object in question, looking it over like he would a Kung Fu artifact, "Looks awesome. Can you play it?"

Crane looked away, his face starting to heat up. Now that the center of attention and the direction of the questions were on him, his beloved dry words has also steered clear from him. Like a disloyal spouse after you showed the first signs of decreasing in your quality of life.

"W-well, I may be a bit rusty-"

"Can it play action music?"

Crane forgot the audience at the weird question. "Ac-action music? What do you-"

"Yes!" the panda suddenly exploded in enthusiasm, "Y'know, songs that make fights more intense, gives us sudden energy when we are getting tired. Those kinda songs."

"I mean… the erhu is pretty flexible, I'm sure I could-"

Po didn't need to hear more, and hastily picking up the instrument, he thrust it into Crane's wings. The bird could hear the frosty crackle of his blood going cold at how… _barbarian-like_ was his soon to be possession handled.

"Perfect! Could you play one? Please? Pretty please?"

The veins of the avian Master was about ready to defrost, when Po made his request. In any other scenario, Crane would have said yes, only finding a little apprehension in the fact that he was playing for one of his best friends, but this was different; _there were strangers around._ Strangers, that suddenly looked very interested in one of their idol's possible private concert. Strangers, with eyes that reflected innocent intrigue, but Crane saw past those. He saw the flashes of judging disgust there, saw the mirages of ridiculing laughter, when he eventually messes up a note and then goes downhill from there. He saw the way people would start connecting one thing to another, and then deciding that he was _no longer worth to be a Kung Fu Master_ , and then…

His heart could run laps around China in its trial to manually thaw the blood of the fear-struck bird, who was only barely holding onto his breath, so he wouldn't start hyperventilating in place. But it was so hard when more and more eyes joined Po's hopeful ones, which meant more and more eyes to fail before.

"P-Po, I cannot," he said, lowering his voice.

The panda furrowed his brows. "But why?"

"Because… _people,_ " Crane hissed, trying to motion with his head to the many members of their little audience that Po was completely unaware of 'till now.

Bless Po's heart, really, Crane wouldn't be surprised if it were actually made of gold. But the panda's big mouth was officially the bird's least favorite part of him, especially after this;

"Oh _right_ , you are completely right. You are an artist kinda dude, those need a captive audience or something. This audience? Just spectators. But watch this," Po then cupped his palms in front of his mouth, so his next words would reach the smallest corner in the boutique, "Attention everyone! Master Crane is ready for a private concert for none other THAN YOU, RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW. We… don't know what he will play, but I can guarantee that it will be _awesome_ _!_ "

Que the unhinged beak and dizziness that came with spiraling down into the deepest corner of despair.

Po's obnoxious proclamation was so effective that not only did everyone in the shop, including Lao, turn their complete attention to Crane, but people from the outside too found themselves intrigued by what they heard. The creak of the front door, the clattering and knocking of the different feet hitting the wooden floor, and the noises of many curious male and female, young and old gaining volume over time were the telltale signs of the change in the situation.

Po stood tall before him, beaming and probably thinking he helped. How hadn't he noticed the scrawny bird's stiff stance, his trembling wings clutching his prized erhu, or how the entirety of Crane's chest bounced to help school his constricting insides? The avian's discipline over his own emotions fled so far beyond him, it disappeared over the horizon. How could Po not see it?

"S-sure," And by god, the pitch he used would have him hide in a corner for days. He was supposed to be one of the male specimen of his species, yet here was, a giant mess of squeaky anxiety.

Grounding the sound box of the erhu and taking the bow in his talons, he took a shaky breath and closed his eyes. Desperately trying to zone out everything around him, he focused on the song in mind, his favorite called 'The Ascension of the Wise'. A slow-paced tune with a wide range of notes, and some trill here and there were the fix me up he needed right now. It's not the action song Po had hoped for, but then again; was Crane ever a man of action?

Chest movements unchanging, he put a feeble wing on the strings, the other on the top of the erhu for balance. Now that he was ready once again to taste the wide road of tunes, he took a little peek at his watchers. Po's very excited eyes met his, and the innocent cheer in them eased Crane's worries a little. He would have grinned back, had it not been for the awful situation. He also met Lao's pair, the elder smiling that knowing smile, like he knew that everything would be all right. The avian Master sure hoped so, 'being all right' was what he desperately needed.

He stopped peeking and put the bow on top of the strings. When the two objects met, a small, deep note resonated through the air, and Crane's shoulders relaxed.

It was showtime.

_GONG-GONG… GONG_

Before he could pull the bow, a series of powerful noise overpowered the shop. It came far from outside, and every single customer snapped their heads up to it. Murmurs and whispers broke out among the audience, and Crane could see the twisted features of fear infecting person by person. Everyone knew what three hits on the gong meant.

There was an attack on the valley.

Forgetting the reason they were here, the many varieties of animals flowed out of the shop, some lost in panic, some in determination to get home and save whatever was precious to them. Po was among them, and he was probably the only one excited about this.

" _Yeah!_ Bandits came for the next round! To the field, Crane!"

And with that, the creaky door was left open, dust settling in its frame. The boutique was quiet again, the only music filling the space was the jingling of money and the scrooping of wood. Supposedly Lao was doing the smart thing and hiding his valuables. Crane on the other hand just stood here, bow still ready to make a first note. His heart was knocking on his chest, thankful to whatever higher power out there, and he could physically feel as the mighty scepter of relief decimated the wastes of anxiety. His muscles refreshed, a cooler and lighter sensation filling them, and he surrendered gladly.

"Crane? You all right in there?" Po's voice said from the outside. From the closeness of it, Crane guessed the panda was right outside.

"Yeah, yeah," he said, sighing, "I'm coming…"

"Master Crane."

His name made him turn. Lao stood behind the counter, that typical 'nice old man' smile gracing his face, that had an undeniable beatific effect on everyone. Even Crane, who was just exposed to the lonely plains of failure, had found the base of his beak pointing upwards.

"I'll store your and your friend's picked goods for safekeeping. Be sure to come back for them," Lao said and took the instrument from the fellow bird. Crane's wings immediately folded back to his body, his feathers protesting against the lost touch of that holy relic.

"Thank you, sir."

Lao waved him off. "None of that. I am the one who should be telling honorifics. Especially to the one person my grandson is all about."

"Your grandson?" Crane asked, his head tilting.

"His name is Xiao. He simply adores you. Has a little toy of you, and I swear it's like the two are always together."

Crane blinked, and he had to put effort into not letting his beak fall again.

"Wow, okay…"

He registered the sentences comprising the individual words, but around the 'adores' part, his brain stopped interpreting the data. Everything after that could have been another language. Not that he got a brain freeze or that he had a limited vocabulary, it's just… he has never heard those words in that particular order in that particular context with that particular meaning. To simply put; Master Crane being adored instead of Master Crane, part of Furious Five, was an alien concept to him.

One that he did not agree with wholeheartedly.

His mind rebooting, he realized that there were still things to do and a village to help defend. Making a final bow of respect to Lao, he turned to the door. His heart was somewhat back in its normal pace, his lungs still a little shaky, but nothing problematic otherwise.

"All right Crane," he said under his breath, "You've been doing this for two decades. You go out, defend your home, bask in the glory, survive a little undeserved worship, and not for once think of the way how you could mess this all up. It's easy, so you can do it."

" _Crane!_ "

The bird in question groaned. "Comin'!"

Lao watched as the frailest one of the Furious Five darted out of the boutique's door. The elder went back to his task of hiding his valuables, but he kept his ears open. He heard the short flaps of someone taking off and the delightfully enthusiastic whoops of one Dragon Warrior. He guessed they wanted to get to the field quickly, so they must have had the panda fly a bit too. How could such a slender creature lift and then fly with a weight like that was unsolvable even for Lao. Yet he knew the answer; Master Crane was strong physically, mentally and spiritually. He had just come face-to-face with it, and a lot of others already knew it or had an idea of it.

But Master Crane didn't, and that's what worried Lao the most.

* * *

The battle was… unexpected.

Most imagined the bandits to be ferocious armored freaks, with their face concealed and sharp weapons in hand, ready to use mindboggling tactics to gain the treasure they sought. They expected a battle of wits, where they had to test their teamwork and their individual skills. They expected their leader to be 'the big bad', the final boss that they had to take down together and stuff. Crane honestly would have been fine with these, at least those wouldn't have made him feel bad about hitting them.

Yes, he pitied his current opponents. While the weapon part was there, the rest was very much amiss. The valley's opponents were none other than filthy pigs in ragged clothing, handling anything from small pocket knives to long swords of great size. They reeked of alcohol, sweat and whatever mud they have bathed in recently. Only their leader, a robust swine had actual armor, thus almost looked somewhat more qualified than his goons. Almost, because Crane was pretty sure the dude was actually drunk. Like 'barely able to stand' level of drunk. Their plan wasn't something to kowtow before either; a one-sided, full-out assault.

That's not to say that they were a complete joke. The weapons were there, and the pigs outnumbered them by miles, so the possibility of overwhelming the Furious Five was there. Plus, they couldn't completely disregard the general either, he must have had some kind of rationality still if he was smart enough to attack the village at a time like the Summer Bazaar. Or at least, Crane wanted to think so. Hurting them certainly did not put a smile on his face.

But hey, against such a low skill enemy, the chances of him screwing up were next to null, right?

To summarize; The battle was half-drunk pigs running into the wall that was the Defenders of the Valley and then joining the pile of their unconscious comrades on the field unfolding before the gates of the village.

"Yeah! You will regret the day you _even thought_ about attacking us when the Fist of Justice kisses your faces!"

"Po! Stop being dramatic and focus."

"Hey, if they get to smell like spoiled tofu, then I get to be dramatic. It's a way of distracting myself from the-"

" _PO!_ "

"All right, jeez…"

While Tigress and the panda had their little back-and-forth, Crane was facing probably the only boar of the little army, its tusks dripping from a putrid bronze liquid with a very strong liquor stench. The avian's face creased up as his surprisingly tough opponent deflected strike after strike with his gigantic wooden shield.

"Of course I get the toughest pin in the haystack," Crane mumbled after yet another fruitless trial to get around that damn shield.

The boar's obnoxious laugh made him wish he was deaf. He would definitely take a long bath after all this, and his ear would be one of the main targets. Can you even wash sound out? He would see it later this day.

"Little birdie not stand chance to me. I crush birdie," the brute said, and the avian had to face the many missing and rotten teeth decorating that _beautiful_ sneer.

"Oh great, _and_ the grammatically challenged one. Please tell me your vocabulary is at least decent."

"NO SPEAK! I crush."

" _Oh my heavens above._ "

Exception strengthens the rule and what not, he did not pity this character at all. And without pity, he really couldn't find a reason to mind his hits. So with that, he raised himself into the air and did a graceful backflip. His wings helped the flip become more of a circular glide, and as he evened out horizontally, he became nothing but blurry bullet. The boar held up his shield, laughing at yet another weak attempt of 'little birdie'. He did not expect half his shield to spontaneously blow up into splinters.

"What-"

But it wasn't over yet. 'Little birdie' took hold of the now uneven shield and ripped it out of the boar's muscled hand. After an energetic spin, Crane hurled the shield back like it wasn't almost as big as him, and hit his opponent's head with such force, the robust bandit staggered on his feet. And as the final stroke of this crude presentation of the Art of War, the boar caught a direct kick under the chin. The stars that teased him before now closed up on him, and the ground shook as he went down.

Crane resumed his beginning stance, but shivered as the sweat from the boar's chin crept down his feet. The bile was already rising in his throat, and only years of training and discipline kept it down. He very delicately rubbed his feet on the ground, and that bath sounded more and more inviting.

Suddenly, he heard a pitiful whimper from his right, so he changed the direction of his stance to face the possible new opponent. But when his eyes landed on the baby faced, pink-skinned pig whose features still carried traces of childish wonder, he relaxed. Not of relief, but because of the shock to his core by seeing a mere child on the battlefield with nothing but a rusty sword in hand.

"What are you doing here…?" the avian couldn't help but ask under his breath. His question was unanswered as the _child_ raised his sword and darted towards him with uneven steps.

Crane's heart bled at the unbridled fear on those young features, telling him ugly stories of the past. He disarmed the kid quickly, mindful not to be too forceful, and threw the weapon far away. Their eyes met, and how Crane wished they didn't; the amount of despair going through their small connection almost caused a trauma for the avian.

"Hey."

The way said child winced was not helping Crane's rapidly falling mood.

"Where are your parents?" He always believed silence was the most cruel doomsayer. The one he got as an answer was the epitome of that belief.

"Do you… have parents?" He tried again, bending his long neck so the two of them could be on the same eye level. The piglet was half his height, but his neck was long enough for this task, fortunately.

The tears that gathered in those round brown eyes was all the answer he needed.

Crane, seeing how the quivering piglet started hugging himself, looked around the battlefield. Tigress and Po were handling opponents so fast, they could be measured in opponent per second. Mantis, being the one with an inferiority complex, was purposefully targeting the tougher-looking enemies, while Viper and Monkey were cleaning up the rest. What the avian also noticed that the battle was orienting towards the right side of the field and more importantly; away from them. Seeing that no one needed help, and no challenger appeared to fight Crane, he did the only thing he thought was right at the moment.

"Hey," he said with a smile. When the piglet looked up at him, he opened his wings and gestured to come closer. The piglet didn't move at first, too dumbfounded by the gesture. Crane could understand it, poor child was probably in this mess against his will. Without parents, the only touches he received couldn't have been savory, and none of those touches had his consent.

The first step was so small, yet it ignited the first flame of the bonfire that hope was. The wind has been a silent partner this whole time, barely rustling any grass or the piglet's baggy and torn-up brown clothing. That small, albeit pudgy body moved, tiny steps covering that barely meter wide distance between them. When he arrived in hugging distance, Crane's wings closed around those stiff shoulders that tensed further when the soft and well-cared feathers touched the tough, dry skin.

It could have been awkward, and _boy_ , Crane knew all about awkward, had it not been because he was too busy with not buckling under the child's suffering as it gripped his soul. He may have needed this hug as well, not as much as the kid though. Almost right away, the piglet started to convulse, little sobs yanking his being as he let the streams of tears go, the avian just squeezed him closer. At one point, the pig started hugging his thin legs, but Crane didn't care. The sounds of the battle were only minor white noise as he shared the pain of a youngster who didn't get the life he deserved.

"It's okay, you are fine. You will be fine. I promise."

Stroking the kid's back, Crane suddenly felt a disruption of evenness on the skin there. He angled his head to look at it and had to seriously take a hold of himself not to choke on a sudden and misguided gasp; ugly red scars mocked him with their worrying length and depth. The avian's nose also caught an odor worse than the boar's and concluded that every single wound was infected already.

Which was _ter_ ri _ble_.

"Hey kiddo," Crane spoke up, not disconnecting their little union. The piglet's ear flickered, which meant he was listening.

"Here's what will happen; you go into the village and search for a place called 'Dragon Warrior Noodle and Tofu'. It's a big shop and its gate should have the face of the panda over there," There, Crane freed one of his wing to point at the distant figure of Po. He felt the piglet's head rotate that way, and after a small pause, he felt the nod.

"You will be searching for a goose in a hat named Mr. Ping. If he is not available, then search for Li Shan, looks like that panda but older. One of them will be there. Tell them that Master Crane sent you, and everything will go swimmingly, okay?"

His mind, heart, soul, and everything capable of translating and sharing emotions went overdrive when the piglet let out a wet whine and squeezed Crane's legs even harder, not wanting to let go. This resulted in the Master's throat to clench and a sob to escape him too.

"It's - it's okay, th-they will take care of you, find you a new home. I-I'll help you too, okay? But you have to leave this field and get to safety, all right?" Crane asked, blinking away the invading moisture.

"Promise…?" the piglet finally spoke in a weak whisper and Crane smiled down at him.

"They say a crane's promise is the steeliest one, and for a good reason too. Now _go_ ," he said and disconnected the hug. The piglet followed his example, albeit reluctantly, and ran towards the village with desperate steps, not once looking back, but who could blame him? A life without the many demons was literally in front of him, beyond barely one or two corners on the main road. Crane swiped some rogue tears from his face and beak as he watched the small figure disappear among the cottages and abodes, well towards Mr. Ping's restaurant.

The kid was safe.

He entered a state of tranquil where moving becomes a taxing, dislikable exercise, where the mind and body both agree on just taking in the intensified surrounding smells, sounds and sights as they recover from the recent emotional spike. It was a good feeling for Crane, he truly felt in balance at times like this one; even if there was a battle to be fought. It was good it came too, because his yellow eyes may have missed the swine general at the other side of the field otherwise.

And if _that_ didn't rip him out of the trance, nothing would have. The general has been a raging, screaming, wobbling mess the whole time, who looked like a burnt dumpling trying to do Tai-Chi, just very loudly. But now, the dumpling changed professions to a very obvious usurer forming the history's most devious plan if that jeering grin was any indicator. Crane followed the general's line of sight and found something that immediately ripped his serene feelings into pieces.

To understand it, we have to know some basics of the village itself. It laid in the valley's heart, standing right on the intersection of three small streamlets as they intertwined to a river. These streamlets were Didi and Ge from the south, plus Guo Ren from the East. Once it was a great peninsula, but the villagers divided the land of that intersection, so the streams formed a great canal system, while they lived on the isles in-between the canals. Many colorful bridges connected these isles, bridges that lanterns lit up whenever night came. On the northern side of the village was the arch-enemy to the Dragon warrior; the Great Staircase that lead up to the Jade Palace. Except for the south, the village was surrounded by farmlands, also made into small isles and canal systems. The only consistent land was on that famous southern part, where the only road into the village laid, right in between Didi and Ge. This was the current aim of attackers; if the pigs got onto the road, they got into the village. But now the focus was on Ge, the bigger of the two southern rivers, the one that sustained the western farmlands.

And the one where a dozen of the enemies were using rafts to get over to the village from the side.

Crane has never taken off so quickly.

Flying over to the right side of the field, Crane has almost laughed; his friends decided that enough was enough, the smell had to go. So they started simply throwing their enemies into the slow moving Ge for a much-needed bath. This totally smelled like Mantis' idea, if Crane were honest. But no matter, he had friends to alert right now.

Seeing an enemy trying to sneak up on Viper, the avian twisted himself into a full-body kick, and the pig found himself flown _over_ the stream and dragging a dirt line behind him as he, by the truest meaning of the expression, bit the dust. Viper looked back at the bird with wide eyes, who unconsciously struck a very stylish pose as his stony-eyes watched the swine for any signs of waking up.

"Wow. Cool _,_ " Po's voice said from the side, also watching the avian, start struck.

The panda's words shook Crane out of his focus, and he immediately turned to take up a back-to-back stance with Viper, covering each other's back.

"Guys, we have a problem."

Tigress, after executing a vicious series of punches and leaving her opponent dazed, turned to him.

"Bigger than this?" she said, tapping the forehead of the dazed pig, who gracefully fell over, out cold.

"Yeah. They are trying to get around by water. Twelve or so already got in the village."

" _What_?"

"Oh, no…"

Tigress turned to him, now with full attention.

"You sure?"

"Yeah," Crane said, stopping to throw an enemy over his shoulder, before flying up and 'helping' the bandit by roughly shoving it forward. He had stopped pitying any of them after the little piglet, "The general is suddenly grinning in joy. Makes you think, doesn't it?"

Tigress glanced back and growled at the dishonorable enemy. From the corner of her eye, she saw another pig jumping at her. As a response, she easily went down to a full split, the opponent flying above her head and crashing into the ground.

"Someone needs to go and stop them." She stated, her voice not asking for a second opinion.

Po grinned as he used his belly to stagger his opponent, who collided with another midair, courtesy of Mantis' kick.

"It's gotta be m-"

"I'll do it."

Crane's statement made even Tigress raise an eyebrow. The avian, sensing the surprised looks directed his way, closed his eyes and exhaled.

"It's… personal."

Tigress's eyebrow lowered, and her expression softened.

"All right. We'll tell you if we need you."

The avian nodded his acknowledgement and took off towards the village.

" _On a second thought_ , maybe Viper would be better," Mantis spoke up wryly, "Guy looked ready to choke on his own spit."

Before he could get a reprimand or a congratulation by Tigress and Monkey on his wry words, the avian's shout from above interrupted both of them. "REALLY? _THAT'S_ YOUR VOTE OF CONFIDENCE? FEELS REFRESHING, BUT PLEASE SHOWER ME WITH IT _LATER!"_

Mantis winced. "Damnit," to which Monkey let out a wild laugh, and even Po chuckled.

"Oh, you're gonna get it today, you bet!"

Mantis rolled his eyes and continued beating anyone who looked even close to dismissing him as a formidable opponent. The sounds of the battle couldn't overshadow the sounds of the bird's flaps, even as they constantly lowered in volume the farther he got.

"Man, wings are such a cheat," Monkey said, his staff readied for his next opponent.

* * *

Crane used mighty flaps to reach the village. Even if his wings felt weird and heavier thanks to the humidity of the summer rays, he kept his altitude. His eyes roamed over the streets, and it didn't take long for him to notice chaos on the northern part of the main road. The group of pigs surrounded a house and a shop, the sight made Crane wish he could growl. It was none other than Lao's boutique, and by how intertwined the shop was with the house, it must have been the elder's house too.

With ire surging through his veins, he nosedived straightaway, his beak aimed at the back of one pig holding a bundle of clothes of all color. Nearing his target, he twisted his body into a mighty kick that promised immediate damage to whoever it hit. The pig, upon receiving the hit, gave out a loud cry before hitting the ground, unmoving. The eyes of the surrounding people turned towards him.

"Hey, isn't that one of those weird fighting guys?"

"He is! Take what you can quickly, we'll distract him."

Crane channeled his chi into the tip of his wings and took on his fighting stance.

"Weird fighting guy, he says," he muttered to himself, "One would think it's easy to learn two one-syllable words, yet here we are."

He watched as seven pigs dropped what they had in their arms and took out their staffs and hammers. Illiterate they may have been, but they sure knew how to follow a plan.

Crane's opponents didn't waste time going in one by one. They attacked together like a trampling horde, ready to swarm and overwhelm their target. Said target tried to fight his brow raising in favour of remaining stoic and serious, but how could he, when his opponents were making this fight weirdly too easy by literally offering it on a porcelain platter. Crane shrugged and counter-attacked with his glowing wing, swinging in a circle, smacking pig after pig right on the cheek. The swing dazed the attackers, and the fight looked almost over when they all capsized like a boat on a blunt cliff.

After finishing his strike, he jumped backwards and landed next to a stacked pile of wooden boxes, that cast a shadow over him. He resumed his open winged stance, waiting for the pigs to come again. He was an unmoving stone there, his eyes just as hard and calculating. The bruised pigs on the other hand didn't react well to the chi-powered smack, clear by how they groaned and complained, some even started a heated conversation with another. They sure took their sweet time regaining their footing, yet Crane kept still, watching his opponents' every little movement. Patience was key, and patience he had tons. Waiting for the opposition to attack or show any exploitable weaknesses were his speciality, his entire technique relied on patience.

Finally recovered, the foul smelling pigs encircled Crane this time. The Master guessed it was for the sake of not getting into each other's way or get knocked out by a simple swing.

The attacks came, and now Crane had to actually put in some effort into the defense. While the pigs were coming, the master made a note of the ones that would reach him first and in what order. Two pigs, one from the front, the other from Crane's back arrived together in synchrony. The avian master moved, kicking backwards, hitting a jugular, and punching forward, hitting a cardia. The one who got his neck hit fell over with a very swine-like scream, but the other remained standing. Deciding to change that, the avian twisted, his extended leg hitting the left ear of that stomach-nursing pig, knocking him out effectively. The third attacker received the sharp end of Crane's elbow and ended up kissing the ground with a grunt. The next swine has arrived too with a long staff, but Crane sidestepped the strike of the weapon, grabbed said weapon with his talons, and used it to knock out the fifth pig coming from the side with a resounding smack. He dropped the staff, changed which legs he was standing on with grace, and kicked the staff-less pig square in the face. The last attacker arrived too with a rough sounding war cry, but before he could actual strike, Crane turned his head and struck the swine with the side of his beak without meaning to.

His opponents neutralised, Crane went back to his basic stance and just _breathed_. His panting shook his entire body repeatedly, even his well-practiced stance was aloof. One may think the fight winded him, but in reality it was just what birds did instead of sweating. It was still better than any other scenario.

Not wasting any time on minor things like heat, he searched for the other swines, that were stealing the belongings of the house and the shop. He spotted a total of 4 others with the same attire that the ones he beat, having different belongings in their hands. They had boxes of food, jewelry, clothes, even kitchen tools, and they were in a hurry to get out there.

Understandably so.

Crane was ready to intercept them, but the stack of boxes he was standing in the shadows of suddenly collapsed on him. He jumped away, but the boxes were far too gone and they crashed onto the ground, trapping Crane's left wing under. He sucked in a breath that came out as a hiss and began frantically tugging his appendage, trying to free it. His features turned into one of worry. He really, really, _really_ hoped his wing wasn't fractured.

Out of the blue, another pig appeared from behind the boxes, and with a victorious grin filled with rotten teeth, he jumped on the Master and restrained him. Crane remembered now that he only fought six pigs, but seven of them took out their weapons at the beginning. The pig was standing on both his beak and right wing, making it impossible to move. He still tried to struggle, but the weight was too great. He could only watch as the rest of the bandits ransacked the two buildings and ran away with joyous cheers.

Crane didn't even notice the weight leaving him or how much time has passed while he was sprawled on the ground, until he heard someone say his name.

"Master Crane? Are you all right?"

The bird in question looked up to see a familiar elderly goose looking down at him with a cocked head. The most prominent feature Crane noticed was the wrinkles the other bird sported and the sad, maybe disappointed frown.

"Y-yeah. My wing is stuck though."

"Let me help you with that."

After helping the Kung Fu Master to his feet, Lao moved the boxes from the pile one by one. At one point, Crane could slide out his wing and free it finally. He gave it a quick look-over and sighed; it wasn't broken.

"Thank you for trying to defend us," the goose said, making Crane look up at him.

"I'm sorry for your belongings, I really wish I could have done more."

"It's all right. Nothing we didn't stand up from before."

Lao dismissed the conversation as he turned around towards the house, his house. Crane watched him leave, and he remembered a passing thought earlier this day about Po's heart being made from gold. Seeing the lack of friendliness from the elder, his own heart was more like a stone, with vines of amber encircling it.

Oh well. He was used to the amber-covered stone heart of a failure. The movement of the front door in the corner of his sight gained his attention, meaning that Lao was about to check up on his home too. With a disappointed sigh, he shook his head and readied to take off.

"GRANDPA!"

The noise of a child made the Master freeze mid flap.

"Hey there, you little rascal."

"Grandpa, they came into the house and stole a lot of stuff! They almost found me too!" Crane couldn't help but cringe. He didn't know what he would have done if they stole a kid too. Speaking of the kid, he must have been Xiao, grandson of Lao.

"But they didn't, right? Were you hiding?" the elderly said with a rough sounding chuckle.

"In the roof. They didn't come up," came the dejected reply, "They _really_ stole a lot of stuff."

"Don't worry little one, we'll make do… somehow."

"You promise?"

"I promise," Lao sighed, "Now come on, we have cleaning up to do. We also need to see how much of the shop is still intact."

Crane only heard two sets of feet, one slower and one running, becoming more distant as the seconds ticked by. Yet he didn't take off. Frozen posture, save for his chest which was still in a rhythm, trying to cool the body of his, that's what he had. His eyes found his bruised left wing, still glowing faintly from the chi. Otherwise a beautiful sight, but now Crane could only see them as tools of a misfit. A misfit, that was him.

His feathered appendages went limp next his body. He used his taloned feet to reach up and tip his rice hat downward, shielding his eyes. He wanted no one to look at him and recognize his struggles against his burning eyes, fat droplets forming in those yellow pools. But at what cost, if he was destined to lose? His amber heart weighed down on him, like the inevitable rain on an autumn day.

Inevitability was beautiful, yet its ugly head was the only thing smiling at you whenever you met her.

As for him, someone who people love as a hero? Well…

He had failed.

"Hey Crane!"

The familiar sound reached his ears and made him look up, his eyes barely visible under the edge of the hat. The figures of his friends arrived, and he attempted to recompose himself. Questions about why he looked the way he was the least welcome at this moment.

"H-hey guys."

Damnit, he sounded totally broken.

"Oh wow, okay, tone down the enthusiasm, we may think you are actually happy to see us or something," Mantis replied.

"Are you okay, Sweetie?" Viper asked, slithering close to her friend, so she could look him in the eyes without the hat being in the way.

"Had been worse for wear, that's for sure. So… did we win?" Crane asked, trying to change the subject.

"Hell yeah we did!" Po exclaimed, "They didn't even stand a chance. After the big bad saw how his army couldn't get through us no matter what they tried, he retreated like a coward. It was easy as a noodle soup on the stomach."

"It wasn't organized as an army, it was more like a horde," Monkey muttered and was gracefully ignored.

"What's with the bodies?" Tigress asked, pointing at the seven pigs still on the ground, their weapons all over the place.

"Oh… well, I-"

"You took on _seven_ by yourself and WON?! That's so awesome Crane! How did you do it?"

"I didn't really-"

"It's probably the boxes," Mantis pointed at the pile, "They seem heavy."

"Using your surroundings as resources to beat their numbers advantage," Tigress mumbled while stroking her chin, "Respectable."

Crane gave up. "Yeah, thank you."

"Well, I think it's time for your evaluation, students! Meet me at the gate of the Palace. The last one gets to help the cleaners tonight!" Po said, already turning on his heels and running down the main street. The Furious five watched him like the time he asked Tigress to play with his dolls.

"He… knows that the staircase is still there, right?" Viper asked while motioning towards the panda.

"Well, at least we won't be cleaning anything today," Mantis said with a shrug before hopping off after the panda. Soon the rest of the gang followed him, leaving Crane behind. Said bird shook his head slowly. This day was just the worst.

Suddenly, something caught his eye among all the unconscious bodies, boxes and weapons. Something white. He walked over and picked it up with his taloned feet. Much to his surprise, it was a wooden crane, painted exactly how he usually looked with the purple sash and the straw hat.

A toy resembling him that belonged to the Shu residence? Now how did that happen?

Oh, wait.

Oh.

_"_ _His name is Xiao. He simply adores you. Has a little toy of you, and I swear it's like the two are always together"_

_Oh._

…

Goddamnit all to hell.

He knew that he was walking into his own heart's doom, but that was the only right thing to do. To be honest, this day was already between hideous and an exasperated, sarcastic _wonderful_ , so what's a little more punch for his already unstable emotional world? Maybe he would even get a grateful smile, before all that would inevitably shatter into little pieces of hate.

With all that in mind, he put the toy under his unbruised wing and walked up to Lao's residence. The door was open wide, so he opted to knock on the frame instead.

"Excuse me?" Crane cleared his throat, "Lao? I've got something you may like."

His reply was not the one he expected.

"Coming!"

Soon, he heard a pair of quick feet approaching. A small gooseling, around the ages of 8 or 9 appeared running towards him, before stopping with wide eyes.

"No way! Master Crane!" the kid's eyes positively shone, and it helped ease the numbness of the avian master.

"Hey kid. Xiao, right? I found something that might be yours," Crane said while stretching out his wing with the plaything balanced on it. The kid eagerly took the wooden figure and hugged it with all his might.

"My Crany! Thank you Master Crane, you are the coolest!"

"Heh, you are welcome kid, and thanks. Say, why do you have a figure of me?"

The kid looked up at him quizzically.

"Because you are the only bird in the Furious Five, and it makes me think that I can be as good as the others, even with wings!"

"O-oh, yeah? That's… good to know," Crane said, looking away. He had an itch to tip his hat again to shield his eyes. He expected Xiao's adoration for him, but to be so blatantly idolized to a point where he was the main source of motivation, that was a twist. This must be what Po felt when people expressed their worship after he became the Dragon Warrior.

"How is the shop by the way? It looked pretty banged up," he asked, changing the subject.

The kid immediately lost the spark in his eyes.

_Uh oh._

"Well… those bad guys took a lot of things from here too, Grandpa is not sure how the shop will survive this month. It sucks it wasn't you who came to our help," he said, before he smiled up at his idol, "I bet you could have easily beat all of them!"

This day has officially surpassed the 'wonderful' level and fell straight down to _abysmal._

"I… _was_ actually the one who came to help. I'm sorry I couldn't stop the bandits," Crane said, though his apology tasted like venom on his tongue. The kid was still looking up at him, but differently than before.

"Wait… You were the one fighting with the bad guys out there? And… _you lost_?"

Crane kept silent and bowed before the child.

"It's… okay Master Crane, you did what you could. It wasn't your fault," the kid said, a little awkward smile straining his face.

"I… tried," the avian Master replied before sighing, "Good day."

With that, Crane tipped his hat in farewell, and began making his way out of the shop with a faster pace than he would usually have. He tried to think about the possibility that Po had probably reached the top of the stairs already, or the heat had gotten to him and he was taking a break halfway. Anything to erase that second of broken disappointment on the child's face.

"Grandpa!" he heard Xiao shout from the shop as he was taking off, "Can you make me a Mantis figure for my next birthday?"

Crane absolutely did not dip while flying, but his soul did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Story Miscellaneous  
> #1:The Author would like criticism of all kind, as well as responses to the story.  
> #2:The Story would feature smaller character arcs for Po, Tigress, Monkey, Mantis, and Viper.  
> #3:The Author likes Crane's character and took it upon himself to make him a lovable, compelling, literal dork for the masses.  
> #3A:Asterisk for Story Miscellaneous #3: Or at least, he will try...
> 
> Chapter 1 Miscellaneous  
> #1:The original draft of Chapter 1 was supposed to be 3,994 words long, but then things went crazy, I have no idea.  
> #2:By the time Chapter 1 is finalized, Chapter 2,3 and 4 are on the works, with Chapter 4 being a mere draft.  
> #3:In the Draft of Chapter 1, The entire Boutique scene and the scene with the hog and the piglet were amiss. Lao and Xiao's character were nothing but an 'Elder goose' and 'Gooseling'  
> #4:The Erhu was planned to come in around Chapter 5, but for the sake of character building, The Author decided to put it in Chapter 1.  
> #4A:Asterisk for Chapter Miscellaneous #4: Oh boi, I have plans for that Erhu, big, big, BIG plans.


	2. Stories of Turmoil

The blue bristles of the paintbrush slowly stroked the surface of the paper, filling the void between the black lines. Every stroke was of an expert, even if the talons were holding the handle in a death-grip. The painting was almost done, it only needed subtle shading under the feet of the protagonist. The artist dipped the brush in water, cleaning it from the blue pigment, before replacing the cleanliness with a hint of darkness. Then, he took a deep breath to get ahold of his unusual trembling and focused on the task at hand. Delicate circles of darkness hugged the skinny legs of the main actor, the painter himself slowly exhaled and closed his eyes.

The piece was finished.

The artist flapped his wings subtly at the painting, trying to help the drying process. Meanwhile, he inspected the whole picture with a critical eye, trying to decide how successful it turned out to be. He noticed some differences between his vision and what the final product was, and just these contrasts reminded him of his stubborn melancholy. The focused frown of an artist disappeared as his body slouched.

He sighed. Damnit, not even his favorite hobby could distract him from the sour smudge of today's memories.

Five knocks shook his door. Crane listened to the sounds, and his gloomy mind puzzled together who it could be. The person had a fist; he guessed from the bluntness of the noise, crossing Viper, Mantis and Zeng out from the possible visitors' list. The fact that they knocked and didn't just open it without a care in the world eliminated Tigress. The sound came from the level of his beak, so the person must have been around his height, something Master Shifu wasn't. And then there was the fact that every normal person would only knock twice, except if they were less knowledgeable with traditions, crossing out Monkey too. This left one person on the list.

"You never had problems with coming in uninvited before, Po."

His door moved, sliding sideways as it revealed the black and white form of his friend.

"Yeah, but it always messes up your work and the air freezes after that, which is, y'know, kinda awkward…" the panda said with a shrug. His eyes needn't much time to find the different tools scattered on the ground, such as a piece of wood with goops of colored pigments sheening in the sunset's light, and a medium-sized Hanging Scroll laid down next to that.

"So… what's up? I see you were painting."

"That I was."

"…You only do that when you are upset."

Crane looked at his fellow Master curiously.

"I do?"

"Yeah, it's like me and eating. I eat a lot when I'm upset."

Crane acknowledged Po's words with a nod and began putting his painting tools away, back into a decently sized wooden box.

"You must be wondering why I'm here?" Po spoke up from his place in the doorway.

"That I do."

"I'm here, because you weren't at today's performance analysis, which was weird because you are kind of today's hero."

Crane was midway of putting his brush into the box, but upon hearing this, he froze. The brush fell into the box with an audible _clack_.

"I… honestly doubt that's true."

"Oh, come _on_! You single-handedly beat seven bandits at once! Even Tigress has problems with that many opponents if they gang up on her, and she is _Tigress._ "

Crane cringed and continued putting away his tools.

"Yeah, I'm sorry for not showing up. Had to distract my mind from this day."

Po cocked his head at the lack of dry comment **,** something very unusual. As Crane used a piece of cloth to clean the pigments off the plank, the panda noticed that the scroll on the ground wasn't totally blank, on the contrary actually; it had a whole picture on it. Seeing that his friend was busy, he sauntered over to get a better look.

"Wow. Something definitely happened back there."

The painting was a little hard to see in the room's gradually dulling lighting. Po could make out some city at night that reminded him of Gongmen, just without the tall tower. It was also on fire, so there's that too. On the side, he saw a lone character watching the burning city from the end of a towering cliff. The character was clearly a bird, with defined and detailed wings, feathers and the rest. From the rice hat on its head and the purple sash around his stomach, Po didn't need to be a genius to figure who this was. Another curious detail among the many was that the bird bowed before the city with teary eyes, like it was grieving it.

This was not a picture drawn by happiness, that's for sure.

His musings stopped when the avian picked up the Hanging Scroll, dragging it out of the panda's sight, and gently hanged it on a little wooden hook poking out from the nearby wall. Now the picture was looking back at its own creator and Crane just stood there, gazing at it without a word.

Po tried something else. "You know, me and the guys agree that you did very well, maybe even the best today."

Crane blinked and shook his head, the focus coursing back to his yellow eyes.

"Even Tigress?" he said, turning to his friend.

"Well, she couldn't deny the results when she saw it with her own eyes."

Crane's eyes dropped to the ground, a small smile tugging the base of his beak.

"Thanks Po."

Said panda smiled back, happy that it worked. Others' good opinion on him always had a swell effect on the feathered Master. Seeing that the conversation stopped here from both sides, Po bowed and turned around to leave.

"By the way," Po asked from the doorway, "Will you be there for dinner? I may be making your favorite."

"My favorite, until Monkey's fingers find the Szechuan sauce."

Po snorted at how Crane's sarcasm made its comeback. "No worries about that anymore, because I've hidden it this time."

"And you think _that_ will stop him, how?"

"…Good point," Po conceded, "So, will you come?"

Crane sighed with a sharp nod, finally surrendering to the tug of that damned smile. Seeing the panda leave, he too was about to turn back to his own business, some tools were still not put away in the end, but the combination of a yelp and a thump from the doorway had his head snap back.

"I'm afraid dinner has to be postponed today." came the voice of not Po, but a familiar elderly red panda.

"Someday, you've _got to_ show me how you do this." groaned Po as he collected himself from the ground.

Shifu smiled at him, knowing that no, he wouldn't. Not because he didn't like Po, but because it was humorous to the red panda how startled and bewildered the Dragon Warrior got every time he used this simple trick.

Plus, he needed his own secrets.

Seeing quick movement from the side of his sight, he turned his attention there. He saw the owner of the room, Master Crane, who, much to his confusion, was bowing to him.

"Greetings, Master Shifu." he said, that round hat of his perfectly shielding his face.

This was concerning. Had it been a year before, Shifu wouldn't have batted an eye at the gesture, but that was before Po came along and opened his eyes on several things. It was also before Shifu officially retired from being the Teacher of the Furious Five and before said group of Masters became part of the Masters' Council. Officially, everyone in the Jade palace was on the same level, except for maybe the Dragon Warrior, who was _technically_ above them. Technically, because Po still interacted with them like when he first joined the Jade palace. Idols, that's what they were in his eyes.

Point is, Shifu and the Five were at the same level in the hierarchy, and the red panda couldn't emphasize that he deserved no more of the respect given to a Teacher. He had to literally beat it into the Five and even Po in the end, but it worked.

So why did it come back?

Shifu also noticed the new addition to the usually empty room. A quick look at what the picture entailed, the information of the earlier raid on the village, and the knowledge of Master Crane's habits painted a worrying picture, literally.

_Ah._ _Of course._

"…As I said, dinner will have to wait. A new artifact has been brought to the Jade Palace." he said, his staff hitting the ground for added emphasis.

Shifu could hear Po's mouth widening and his excitement going through the roof.

"A new artifact?! _No way_!" the mentioned Dragon Warrior was already through his first 'battle pose' "What is it? An ancient sword of some cool, justice-serving hero? The armor of a robust, insane overlord?! Or perhaps the magical fake leg of that one master with the-"

"It's a vase."

" _Ughhh_ "

It was almost comical how the panda could get into the character of a fanboy. The way he used katas, kicks and sweeps while prancing around Shifu, and how he even jumped high to execute a midair spin-kick for the added emphasis was such a Po thing to do. Getting disappointed also midair and falling face-first was another example, and Crane had to keep his beak strapped together to not let a sudden giggle escape.

"Seriously?" Po asked, still laying on the floor, his flattened face kissing the ground. "You went away for _two weeks_ for an empty vase?!"

"Had I said it was empty?" Shifu asked with a raised eyebrow at the 'comfy-looking' panda.

" _Right._ " only now did Po raise his head to show his unimpressed face. "It has air in it."

"Well, if you think Elemental Chi, the most mysterious and dangerous thing in China, is comparable to mere air, then yes, your disappointment is justified."

While Shifu was explaining, Po managed to sit up as he gave the red panda his undivided attention.

"Mysterious and dangerous you say…"

"The _most_ mysterious and dangerous."

"The most dangerous or just dangerous _period_."

"The most dangerous… _without a period._ "

…

Crane honestly felt forgotten. But he didn't mind, _God_ _no_ , this back-and-forth challenge between basically Yin and Yang dressed as two pandas entertained him to a degree. It also helped dull that stubborn ache in his chest, and honestly, _good riddance_.

" _Yeeah._ " Po said, dragging the word out while nodding in his satisfaction. "I can roll with that. We must defend such a valuable artifact from the likes of bandits and thieves, mustn't we?"

"That's… the point of bringing it to the Palace." Shifu replied, but Po was already in its own world.

Said panda got up from the ground and made his way out of Crane's room.

"Don't mind me, I'll just make sure that absolutely no one touches this… _newcomer_. If they do, they will have a taste from the justice I will serve on them…"

The echo of the corridor drowned his continued mumbling before it was no more. Shifu just looked at the doorway, his jaw slack and his eyes wide by a great deal of astonishment. He turned towards Crane to ask a silent question, to which the Master just shrugged and shook his head.

The weary red panda rubbed his face and sighed. "It's official, I'll never understand this panda, nor will I get used to his oddity."

"You gotta admit, though, it is endearing on some level."

"Would be lying if I said no." Shifu said accompanied by a smile. It quickly disappeared once his hand left his face.

He saw the transition on Shifu's face, only now did Crane notice how dim the room became.

He witnessed his old Master's gaze wander behind him. The simple gesture of an old, trained eye ended up being a huge catalyst. This flat, yet dense and heavy feeling nestled back to this place above his heart, like it was never gone in the first place. The dipping of both his posture and his smile made the change clear to anyone watching him.

Shifu didn't comment, just walked over to the painting, his feet making no noise whatsoever. He did not even spare a glance at the avian next to him. Instead, his eyes jumped from one side of the painting to the other, top half to the bottom half, right corners to the left corners, through the middle.

"Art is like a language on its own. Used right, it can tell stories. Stories of triumph and glory, stories of joy and family, stories of grief and horror…" Shifu paused and looked at Crane's still form. "…stories of failure and misery."

The further dropping of shoulders was all the answer Shifu needed.

"Painting a figure, overlooking destruction and the loss of lives is a sign of a person who lacks any sense of morality and finds joy in watching others' fight a battle they are destined to lose. Bowing before a burning city is a sign of respect to the fallen. Covering the character's face means either shame or the complete loss of identity. You painted two very different stories, stories that conflict with each other. My question is…"

Crane didn't even resist the staff that gently forced him to face the red panda.

"Which one are you?"

"The failing one."

Shifu didn't even blink at the immediate answer, just watched as the Master of the Fujian White Crane technique, the one he himself trained for over two decades, the bird of peace, the thinker of the Furious Five stared at him with yellow eyes, that made the color's naïve shine become dreary real and its vitality vulnerable. The eyes of an artist, desperately searching an out of the frightening razor blades that was guilt. This person was subduing himself and letting a mere stick, glorified as Oogway's staff, control his movements.

"The one that… watched a family lose almost everything they have worked for with vigor. The one that made a careless mistake, and not only did he help the enemies succeed, but took away the light from a child's eyes. A child who viewed him as an idol, an example what to become… And the one that knows a situation where apologies and compensation wouldn't work anymore."

"Admitting a mistake takes bravery and selflessness Master Crane **.** I hope you realize that. It also opes up a flood that starts slow and forced but ends up being free and unstoppable. Your last words were what you truly felt and thought, and it couldn't have been stopped even if you put yourself in the flood. Tell me, _what_ wouldn't work anymore?"

Crane just looked at his old Master's strict and stoic face. It was a well-practiced mask that took years of training and discipline to master.

"Well, failure rarely resonates well with the title 'member of the Furious Five', so... that."

It actually felt good to say it out loud. His resolve, small as it may be, managed to keep a level of denial in him. That resolve was clearly leaking like no other, the picture he just spent more than an hour or two is clear evidence of that.

"Do you doubt your place in the Furious Five, Master Crane?"

"I-"

" _Because if so_ , it seems I need to teach you a lesson that shouldn't be taught."

Suddenly, the staff that had been keeping the avian from looking away was hooked under his left wing. It stung, and Crane cringed, but kept silent as Shifu effortlessly dragged him outside of his room to the pitch-black of the corridors, outside of the barracks to the sunset-orange outdoors and the grassy and uneven area before the building's gate. Then came the stairs, leading from their residence to the Palace itself, and it sure as hell wasn't a pleasant experience to be hauled down on _that_ , but he didn't utter a word. The red panda didn't look to be in the mood for talking it out. After the stairs disappeared, the familiar tiles of the Palace Arena came, where Oogway had chosen Po to be the Dragon Warrior.

Crane shuddered at the thought that Shifu would drag him up to the palace itself, but much to his relief, his master stopped right before its staircase.

"Tell me, what do you see here?"

Crane gulped at the deadly calm question and looked around.

"We are… in the arena?" he tried, but Shifu kept dangerously silent.

_Wrong answer then._

"There are the walls, the stands for the spectators, the main gate… the P-palace building up there and… I think the guys are there too."

"What are they doing?"

"They are talking and… laughing. Mantis is telling a story It looks like."

"What do you think, how do they feel at the moment?"

"Erm… they look happy. Maybe even calm?"

Crane's heart did a backflip when Shifu's staff hit the ground before him with a resounding _thud_.

"Now what do you think would happen if you suddenly up and _left?_ Do you think they'll be happy and calm?!"

'No' was the answer. As far as he knew, they would search him up and beat some sense into him.

A screaming silence descended upon them. Shifu glared at Crane, something that may have had a big role in inspiring Crane's realization of what his master's point was. He didn't dare to move, fearing that the smallest of movements could ignite something in the elderly Master. He even stopped breathing, just to be safe.

Much to his relief though, Shifu pulled his staff back and sighed. Crane's body relaxed in accordance with his ex-Teacher's.

"Your thoughts are noble, trying to think long distance and for the bigger whole. If there was one person I would definitely believe was from actual noble line, it was you." Shifu began, and at this statement Crane couldn't control the doubting snort. Shifu ignored it.

"You have a family here, five very different siblings that would die for you and they know you would do the same. One reason I accepted you five all those years ago was because the bond you shared was obvious and I would throw away the closest thing to what the Furious Five looked in my time."

"You made a mistake, Master Crane, but no mistake can't be fixed, only the ones with intention, but those aren't mistakes anymore."

Crane closed his eyes and let the words reach him. His mind didn't know which path of logic to believe. One part has the face of Xiao perfectly ingrained, as it was morphing from adoring to confusion, to disappointment and sorrow badly masked by awkwardness. It also had the tone of elder Lao, tired and crispy, with that tiny bitter hint of disappointment, that was like snake venom in a bowl of soup; no matter how much you stirred, boiled or filtered the soup, it would always be a death sentence for you.

The other part was making sure he remembered all those adventures and escapades he did with his, dare he call them, brothers and sisters. All those smiles and laughs, the moments of familiarity he felt only years into his Kung Fu training, which he felt with full force nonetheless. The moments of warmth, be it from his timidity or flattery, that always permeated him when the people of the quaint village praised the Furious Five _as a unit_. Every single adventure and conflict since Po joined their family, his incredible stories that may or may not have been true, depending on whether the events happened in the panda's head.

He made his decision.

"You are right, Master Shifu. I'm sorry for my selfishness."

He missed how the red panda rolled his eyes and finally let out a smile.

"The line between selfishness and selflessness is thick, but perspectives can make it very flexible. Now come on, we made them wait enough. The M and M duo was never famous for their patience, even if one of them is a doctor."

Crane let a small smile make way. Maybe, maybe Shifu and that other half of his head _are_ right. He just had to figure out how to make up for his mistake for that family.

* * *

"There's _no_ way that survived. Literally the only thing keeping that together is glue."

"That must be some glue if it survived a statue smashing into it."

"I need to get some of that. Do you think Zeng would lend me any?"

The subject of the topic was the Urn of Whispering Warriors. As of now, two geese servants were gently placing it on top of a stand at the back of the Hall of Heroes. After the destruction Kai had caused, most believed the artifacts were damaged at best, destroyed at worst. The workers recently finished the rebuilding of the hall and they did an amazing job; the hall looked almost identical to its pre-statue-smashed, roof-collapsed-on look. Almost, because the places of the legendary artifacts were empty. The only ones that were saved are Master Flying Rhino's Armor and the Invisible Trident of Destiny. How they found _that_ is a complete mystery, but considering that its existence is perplexing, no one batted an eye. The explanation to that wouldn't have made any sense either.

Apparently, they found the re-glued urn amongst the destruction too, and it was only missing one of its handles. Now, it was being put into its original place and the Furious Five were looking at the artifact in understandable bafflement while Po and Shifu were at the other side of the Hall, whispering among each other. Shifu specifically asked for a private chat with Po, so now the Furious Five couldn't do anything but wait on the sidelines.

"I think…" Crane began slowly, his head cocked in curiosity "I have an idea how this is possible."

"Really? Then please, do indulge us. An actual answer would be nice right about now." Mantis said, crossing his front legs impatiently.

Crane glanced at the pair of servants chatting next to the urn. They were the ones who put the artifact there. He mainly focused on the one with the yellow robe who did most of the talking. They knew him as quite the coy servant, so that blinding smile was an unusual sight for the eye.

"Well, if I am not 'about ready to choke on my own spit' as one might say…"

"Come on dude, I already apologised!"

"…Then I can tell with no certainty that Zeng saved it."

"How do you guess that?" Monkey asked, smiling at his bummed best friend's karma.

"Well, he _is_ unusually upbeat these days, and didn't really tell anyone why. It would make sense if he managed to save the urn."

"Wasn't he the one who put it back together after Po broke it?" Viper added her two cents.

"He was." Tigress agreed "I saw him lurking around with a bag after we heard about Kai coming here."

"That means nothing. It could have been his belongings." Viper noted, prompting some nods from the ground.

"Either way, I can feel the dude. If they made me put together something like that, I wouldn't want it to break again. Way too much work." Monkey said, his Bo staff comfortably leaning on his shoulder.

"You know, speaking of feeling things… don't you guys feel like, something powerful is around?" Viper asked, her tail twitching periodically nervously.

"Now that you mention it, it does feel pretty dense in here **…"** Monkey said.

"It must be the new artifact Shifu brought," Tigress agreed distractedly. Her eyes raised towards the other side of the Hall, trying to peek at the item. Unfortunately, the panda's body blocked her sight, and it only strengthened her frown.

"That, or the hall needs some serious airing. Either way, breathing is kinda hard and none of you have lungs as small as mine." Mantis complained. The rest of the five noticed him taking deep breaths occasionally ever since they stepped into the hall.

"Are you going to be okay, though?" Crane asked. He emphasized with his friend, this day has already been a marathon for his own lungs, this air wasn't making it easier.

Mantis took another deep breath and nodded "Yeah, thanks for worrying."

"Hey guys, they are calling for us." Viper said in a hiss, making them forget about the 'powerful' air for a moment. They turned just to see Po motioning them to come forward. Obeying the panda, they stepped before their two Masters, trying hard not to show their discomfort at the sudden increase of the already strong aura.

"Students, there is no need to be anxious. As long as the vase is not tampered with, it can cause no harm." Shifu said, smirking at how suddenly everyone tried to stop their nervous tics. Tigress had her hands in fists to stop her nail clicking. Mantis frowned, trying to suppress his antennae twitching, while Crane kept his wings tight to himself. Viper hid the end of her tail behind her body and Monkey was gripping his staff, trying not to fidget.

"Come on guys, it's totally safe. Trust me, I tried to open it. It's locked." Po reassured, but from the horrified looks he received, it wasn't as reassuring as he hoped it to be. He could also see Shifu from the side of his eye, giving him an annoyed look.

"Heheh… woopsie?"  
"As I said…" Shifu continued with an exhale, looking back at the five Masters in front of him. "The vase is locked and cannot be opened until the Chi inside doesn't want to leave."

"Doesn't… want to leave? It's alive?" Mantis asked

"That is unknown whether the Chi is 'alive', but from what Master Oogway told me, it's seemingly moving on its own and doesn't react well to Natural chi."

"What's the difference between normal Chi and this other chi?" Monkey asked. In the meantime, Tigress had been giving the worst stink eye at Po, trying to make the panda move so they could finally see that damned vase already. Even though the panda was obviously trying to avoid looking back at her, he has been surprisingly persistent.

"As you all know, Chi is the energy flowing through all living things. But most don't even realize that the word 'all' means more than it first seems." Shifu said and nodded towards Po. Said panda returned the nod and faced his friends. He still didn't look at Tigress, and she almost rolled her eyes at that.

"Okay, so. There is a difference between living things and not-living living things. Me, Shifu, you and every person or plant are living things because we are alive. But with nature and stuff, everything is alive in a sense. Does that make sense?"

"Nope."

"No idea what you just said."

"Try telling it in a language we understand, that might work."

"Okay, okay, I get it. Damn I'm bad at this teaching by word stuff." Po mumbled, before clearing his throat. "So, everything is alive in nature. People and plants are the first things that come to mind, but nature is more than that. Everything that has energy, has chi. So like, when the wind blows really fast, you feel it trying to… _move_ you, right?" his answer was nods all around. "Great, so that means wind has energy, but it isn't alive. Now you might think, 'well gee, Po, how could you be so stupid? Not every kind of energy means it's chi.' But you would be wrong then. Chi is the thing that… that…"

"Pervades." Shifu said as a help.

"Pervades! Yeah, that's the word. It _pervades_ everything and if you think about it, it's actually a lot like food. It links everything and everybody together."

The Furious Five couldn't help but crack a smile at the analogy. They already understood the point he was making after the example with wind, but Po got into explaining, and who would have the heart to stop him once he gets into the character of a teacher? The food line was the cherry on top.

"Thank you, Po." Shifu said, satisfied, before taking over the presentation. "Without further ado, welcome our newest tradition to the Jade Palace, the Vase of the Wu Xing."

Only now did Po step aside to show the stand, and the item placed on it. It was a golden porcelain vase with a dome-shaped top, also golden, and a sizeable plate beneath. The artifact had a column of five words in different colors embed into its round body. All five words had a line of the corresponding color, going in a perpendicular direction to the column itself. At the top was a teal line, connecting to the word 'wood'. Under that was 'fire' in red. Then came 'earth' in yellow, 'metal' in white and last, 'water' in dark blue.

Strangely, the top had another word on it. It was 'wind' and it differed completely from the rest. The differences included its position being on the top and not on the body, its size being halved when compared to the other five, its direction being upside down and the lack of lines connecting to it. The most noticeable one was probably the fact it was pure black, not a color you would associate with wind.

"To understand what the vase contains, you need to understand the concept of the Wu Xing, the five elements." Shifu began."It is a harmonic system, where these elements interact with each other, forming a cycle that could be generating or overcoming. They are the very basics of describing the way our world works. Let's begin with wood, representing a phase of vitality and growth."

While Shifu was explaining, the Five and Po were paying attention. Though most would rather be taught by juicy actions, rather than by dry words, they all knew that they needed to understand some stuff in order for the exciting parts to come. The problem came when you didn't pay attention and found yourself in the middle of a situation without a clue of what's going on. Usually, this happened when the particular person wasn't interested or was just simply distracted.

In Mantis' case, he was _very_ _much_ distracted.

At the beginning of the lecture, he found comfort on Monkey's shoulder, opposite to the one where the Bo staff was. Unlucky for him, Monkey recently got a little hanging banner with a face of a cute monkey on it, which he had suited to the end of his staff. Mantis wouldn't have cared about his buddy decorating his weapons, but at the moment it was the bane of his existence. It was literally hanging onto his head, endlessly annoying the insect. He tried swatting it and blowing it away, but it always ended up coming back and hitting him in the face.

He was quite fed up.

"Hey, man, could you-"

"Master Mantis, do you have anything to add?" Shifu asked with a disapproving frown. Mantis realized that every single eye in the hall was looking at him questioningly. He gulped and shook his head.

"Nothing, Master. Please continue."

Shifu gave him a warning glare, before continuing his talk about the third element, Earth. Monkey was snickering at his best friend's embarrassment and even taunted Mantis by making the banner hit the back of his head. This made the insect's eye twitch and his posture to tense. He was irritated, so much in fact, he was very close to snapping. He had to chant the word 'patience' in order to not do something reckless.

"Come on dude," Monkey began in a teasing whisper, "I thought you liked this. You always complained about things not being in your size."

If you want Mantis' wrath, size jokes are the best way to get it.

And Monkey chose the wrong time to make one.

With a loud war cry, Mantis snapped and kicked the Bo staff so hard and so unexpectedly, it went flying out of Monkey's grasp. Jolted, even the geese servants in the hall jerked their attention to the commotion. The staff flew up a few good meters and hit a nearby pillar. It deflected, lost momentum thanks to that and surrendered to gravity. Much to everyone's horror, the staff hit the side of the plate under the vase, making it flip and launch the artifact into the air.

Time had slowed down as the artifact soared, right towards the big nose spike of Master Flying Rhino's Armor. Tigress, Shifu and Viper were the first ones to get out of their shock and they made a beeline to catch the vase before it inevitably shattered on the armor. Unfortunately, even on their highest speed, they would have been late for it. Had it not been because wings really were the biggest cheat anyone could have, it would have definitely broken.

A collective sigh of relief filled the Hall as the handles of the vase were gripped by Master Crane' talons. The bird himself was still barely out of the momentary panic he felt when the artifact was first made flying. Thankfully, his instincts worked.

Shifu too relaxed at the sight and was about to compliment the official saviour of the day, when they heard a sound. The sound was like when a healer mixed herbs in a bowl with a pestle, except there were no herbs in the bowl, so the sound ended up being a loud, high-pitched, painful scratch. Even if it was barely a second long, ears were covered and eyes were shut in excruciating pain.

Po could still hear the sound echoing in his head moments after the actual event. Still, he had the willpower to open his eyes to check up on his friends. Mantis, Monkey, Viper, Master Shifu and the two geese present were on the ground, groaning in pain, probably experiencing the same echo he was. Tigress wasn't faring better, but she at least kept herself on her knees. As his head got clearer, he collected his wits and turned towards his last friend, and also where the sound came from.

He became _very_ confused.

There was Crane, standing on top of the grounded vase, but… he wasn't moving or reacting to the killer sound. He was just standing there, his eyes bigger than any bird could, _should_ have, his beak unhinged and hanging. That one was a normal thing for the avian, it was how he usually shown his shock. The off thing about it was the unnatural look, like there were no more will in the beak, and it was just hanging there. Then there was one simple detail that filled Po with worry; the dull, lifeless eyes. It's like he was unconscious, but something was keeping the body upright and the fur on the panda's neck stood up at the thought.

"C-crane…?"

The master in question didn't react, but he needn't. Po finally noticed another oddity; all the words and lines on the vase were glowing in their respective colors, the darkness of 'wind' shining the brightest ironically. And if this wasn't concerning enough, the top of the vase has moved and was now only half covering the top. Po needed a second to realize what he was seeing.

The vase was open.

Crane's collapsing body distracted him enough to finally collect his wits and his strength, and rush over to his unconscious friend.

"Oh man, this is not good." Po mumbled, kneeling down and looking over the avian for any signs of life.

"I'll take care of it." Mantis said, coming into the picture with a jump. "Turn him on his side!"

Po followed the troubled looking insect's orders with gentle movements, not knowing what would happen but trusting Mantis. He was the doctor here, so he should know what's up. After Crane was lying on his left side, the insect put one of his forefoot on Crane's neck. Closing his oval eyes, he hummed gently and much to Po's surprise, the deep voice of the insect resonated recurrently, like a heartbeat. Po needn't much time to realize whose he was hearing and allowed his hopes to grow. Mantis stayed like this for an additional moment before opening his eyes and nodding, satisfied by the results. Then he jumped up to Crane's face and pried one of the now closed eyes open. Po has never realized how intensive yellow the avian's pools were, even on that scary dull mode. Like they were actually shining or something. The insect was taken aback by it too, before returning to his search.

He sighed when he found (or didn't) what he searched for.

"All right. He is alive, just knocked out for good."

"What… happened?" Viper asked, her usual natural sliding being jerky and swaying. As the others also recovered, they followed her example and went over to see their fallen comrade.

Nobody knew the exact answer to her question, but Po had a rough idea. He glanced to the side and found the vase at the feet of Crane. The top was still only half open, the words not glowing anymore. In fact, the powerful air was gone too, no trace of it left whatsoever.

"You have an idea?" Tigress asked, walking next to Po as she also gazed at the open artifact like it was devil himself.

"I may."

The tiger didn't know what to expect, so she found peace in watching Po visualize the thought. His hand reached out and pulled it closer to them. Then he raised the top swiftly, almost like he was afraid something would come out. Honestly, she _did_ expect at least a little firework, yet nothing happened. Po, sharing his bewilderment, grabbed the handles of the vase, flipped it over and shook it.

Nothing.

"Empty? Where did all the chi go?" Po asked, bewildered.

"Maybe it was empty the whole time?" Tigress said, though her trial to help didn't work when it was obvious her suggestion was false.

"No, it had to go somewhere. Chi doesn't just disappear like that. I would know, I mastered it."

Viper's out of the blue voice alerted them.

"Guys, look at this!"

The two masters turned back to the half-circle gathered around Crane, and saw Mantis holding up his _white_ right wing that suddenly had lines of _black_ in it.

"Are those… burn marks?" Tigress asked, eyes narrowing.

"I wish they were." Mantis answered. "At least then I would know how to treat it."

"So what are they then?"

"I don't know, I'd need fingers to find out. So… lend me some?"

The tiger looked at Mantis weirdly, not appreciating the insect's trial at a joke in this situation (or any situation at all). Nevertheless, she complied.

"Could you get one for me? From the black parts, I mean."

"You want her to rip out a feather? Won't that wake him up?" Monkey asked, glancing at the sleeping avian's face.

"There is a difference between sleeping and being knocked out. Now you see-" the insect couldn't continue his lengthy explanation because a black feather was thrust into his sight. He followed the hand in which the feather was and saw Tigress' passive face looking down at him, the face that everyone knew meant the first stage of the tiger getting pissed off. Next would be snappy impatience, and no one needed _that_ episode.

"Oh. I mean - thank you."

Mantis laid the feather on the ground, next to Crane, and examined it. He smoothed over the many barbs connected to the rachis, also known as the main shaft. His eyes jumped detail to detail, soaking in all the information, while comparing it to his general knowledge on birds, their plumage and the feathers themselves.

Upon finish, Mantis felt like that one time he tried to bargain with a mentally damaged sheep, and he verbalized the same response as he did then:

"…This makes no sense. _What?_ "

"What makes no sense, Master Mantis?"

The insect in question turned to the voice, and realized it was from none other than Shifu, who has been giving him a cold look for some time. He didn't even complain about it, this kind of look is the least he deserved after partially causing this situation. Monkey had a hand in it too, at least in his opinion.

"The feather looks to be completely healthy, no deformities or any sign that something happened to it."

"And the color?"

" _That's_ what makes no sense. It's like, it changed or something. Which, of course, doesn't happen, but ever since Chi being part of the equation, I don't know anymore."

Shifu narrowed his eyes at the insect, but kept silent. Instead, he used his staff to lift the wing in question and scrutinized the black marks.

"Master Po, could you get me the top?"

"The top of the vase?"

" _Yes_."

Within seconds, the red panda had the item in his hand. He showed the side with the upside-down word on it and then compared it with the black marks on the wing.

"Does anybody see something in common?"

The five masters looked between the two very different looking things.

"They are both black?" Monkey guessed.

"That is true. Now what happens if I turn it like… _this_."

It was like a glass has shattered in the minds. Now that the word wasn't upside down anymore, they could see another common trait; the black lines formed the word 'wind'.

"It seems that Elemental Chi has found residence within Master Crane."

* * *

The soft indigo sky was the last phase of the setting sun's ever-repeating journey. After that, it took on a glorious dark-blue filled with tiny spots of diamonds, each one representing a single, lost soul. It was said that when we die, we became these little gems embed into the sky's palette, and with that, we become a family. Brothers and Sisters, overlooked by the most important entity of the heavens, the Moon.

Speaking of Her Grace, her shining white beauty glowed through the windows, which, sadly, wasn't nearly enough for the people in Crane's spacious room. These people were Mantis and Viper, the assigned 'medical team' of the Furious Five, with Mantis being the doctor and Viper aiding him. They were in the works of trying to find a semi-comfortable way to lay down the comatose room owner in the gleam of paper lanterns.

"Put him on his right-side, his head on the pillow," Mantis instructed Viper, who had his lesser body wrapped around Crane.

"Like this?" She asked, reposing him with a careful, slow motion.

"Yeah, but beware of his wings. They can't be outstretched," Mantis said, trotting up to his friend's body. He folded Crane's right wing back, making sure to put it in a natural angle. Finding his work decently done, he slowly retracted his forelegs as he eyed the appendage.

Viper frowned. Mantis was oddly… careful. Never before has she seen him this cautious about things, his every movement always spoke of defined goals and precision, especially with first-aid. Now, he looked afraid to touch a single feather, much less the whole wing. She had a curious urge to make a note about it, but she bit her tongue; Igniting Mantis' ire wouldn't help anything.

"Could you fold his legs? All the way to his body, I mean," He asked, not removing his eyes from the sleeping form of his friend.

Viper obliged after uncurling from the bird. She used both her head and her tail to push those skinny legs forward, not stopping until they were resting in the confines of Crane's shadow. Finishing her work, she raised her head and smiled at how cute and _awkward_ the avian looked in this fetalesque position.

Then her mood soured when those thin legs popped back outwards.

"Wha-"

"High blood-pressure," Mantis said, almost like he was chewing on his words.

That… did not help her understand, but she believed the doctor of the house. She tried again and almost gasped in offense when the legs stubbornly resisted being tucked in.

"No, no, no, _no._ They must go there," Mantis said, jumping in front of her and pushing in the legs himself, " _They need to_."

"But why?"

"Cranes and birds in _general-_ " he began, struggling to somehow hook those damn appendages together, so maybe they would stop each other from popping out, "-have one of the worst heat balance, almost worse than reptiles'. It's especially annoying when they sleep, because the body loses its temperature on a basis, but cranes just don't _care_ , they can probably get hypothermia by sleeping the wrong way. Their legs have an uncanny ability to let out the body's heat, so cranes have to sleep with one leg tucked in."

"That sounds… unnecessary complicated."

"Understatement of the dynasty." Mantis grunted, when one of his friend's talons kicked his face. "DAMNIT! We are already dancing on the _frickin'_ border of giving birdbrain an askew spine, we don't need him to freeze to death too."

"Mantis…"

"And let's not talk about whatever this chi did with him. Who knows, maybe it has some healing abilities, and we are just wasting our time."

"Mantis."

"Or _. Or,_ it does the exact opposite and by tomorrow morning, we can serve the village an exotic meal; _Smoked crane with green peach salad!_ "

" _Mantis!_ "

"WHAT DO YOU WANT?!"

It's almost comic how easy it was for the tension-gripped air to suddenly manifest from absolute nothing between two people. The snake recoiled at the insect's outburst, burning scarlet eyes looking at her with slitted pupils. She felt the overpowering cold run through her lengthy body, and she felt scared; scared at being burned by those fiery red eyes, scared of saying something wrong that would prompt a violent reaction, scared of her _friend._ And to top it off; she couldn't even fight Mantis if push came to shove, not only because she did not have the heart or the courage for that, but because what good does her technique's moves do when he can easily fold her into a pretty little bow on top of a present? If it were Monkey or maybe even Tigress, she could have a chance; but not against Mantis.

"I'm sorry," she said in a small voice, curling her body tighter together.

Something changed in her eyes, and Mantis caught it.

"Gosh, I…" he struggled to say as he tiredly rubbed his face, "You ain't who should be the sorry one, Vi. I just… am worried."

Viper's head tilted slightly at the declaration.

"W-worried?"

Mantis just nodded, gazing at the sleeping face of Crane. The wrinkles around the bird's beak were a telltale sign if a nightmare, and Mantis had to close his eyes. He did not want to be reminded by Birdbrain either.

"You couldn't have known it would happen," Viper said under her breath.

Mantis just shrugged. "What's done is done. I just have to hope that Crane will be all right. For his sake, and mine too."

Suddenly, Crane's door opened sideways, and the imposing figure of Tigress stepped inside with Monkey and Po following her trail. The tiger held Mantis' acupuncture needles in her hands and an additional pillow, probably for Crane.

She also did not look happy.

"I still don't understand…" Po mumbled after flopping to the ground next to the entrance.

"We've talked about this." Tigress said, not looking at her conversation-partner. She effortlessly flicked the small rectangular pillow, and it plopped onto Crane's stressed face, obscuring it from everyone.

Mantis' eye caught onto the tired circles around the tiger's eyes, her tense posture, and her snappish attitude.

"What's up?" he asked, his eyes following the way she squatted down to put the needles before him.

"Po is heartbroken because we'll sleep in Crane's room, and he can't sleep in his bed," She answered, stepping over his sleeping friend.

"I mean, I'm all onboard with this 'showing our support in the Furious Five way' plan, really, but why couldn't we do that while comfortable?" the panda asked, his face set in clear grumpiness.

"You brought two blankets, that's more than we can say," Monkey said, sitting cross-legged next to Tigress, preparing for his pre-sleep meditation.

"Two blankets? _Why?_ " Mantis asked, turning to Po. Said panda was trying to figure out how to distribute the two pieces of cloth on his large belly.

"It was really just one blanket," the panda said, laying on his back, "but after I mentioned the bed topic to Tigress, she kinda…"

"I'll get you a new one Po, now let Mantis work and sleep," she said, her voice overpowering anyone's thoughts of adding to this valueless conversation, "How is he?"

The identity of 'he' was obvious. "Birdbrain is still out, we just need to tuck his legs under him somehow."

Tigress raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"For reasons, but it's important and we have no clue how to keep them there," Mantis said, showcasing the problem by pushing in Crane's left feet, which bounced back up.

Viper in the meantime was eyeing Po's blankets, a thought bouncing in her mind and gathering merit.

"We need to keep the heat in, right?" she asked, turning to Mantis.

"That's the issue, yes."

"Then can't we just cover it up with a blanket?"

The air in the room stopped, the only sound coming from Crane's airy breaths and the low hums of the meditating Monkey. The rest slowly turned on the sleeping form of Po.

"That… works."

The only sign Po gave about his sudden decrease of possessed blankets was a series of incomprehensible mumblings.

"All right," Mantis began, after finding the blanket's newfound position on Crane's legs satisfactory, "Now for the hard part."

His small foreleg reached out for the first acupuncture needle. Shakily, he raised it while eyeing a particular part on the avian's back. He knew the spot very well - it was the beginning spot for every treatment of this nature, no matter how different the case was - he could have probably closed his eyes and thrown the piece of metal, and still hit a bullseye.

Yet now it was different.

His mind oh-so-helpfully supplied him a picture of that damned Bo staff, flying through the air and knocking over that damned plate. A bird-like figure, white feathers shining bright, flew above his head and caught the vase valiantly and dutifully. Then came the picture, hazy it may be, of Birdbrain on the ground, that damned black patch reflecting at him, looking at him, haunting him.

"V-viper, could you get me the scrolls about avian anatomy?" he asked, turning to his companion.

The snake tilted her head. "Okay…?"

"And the first volume of my medical studies too, if you could."

Now the snake blinked, out of the loop. "The basics?"

"Yeah."

"But…"

"I know, I know, I just… want to make sure."

Viper wasn't a fool, she knew that there was more to it.

"Allright." she said, slithering towards the door. Before leaving the room, she turned back; Monkey, Tigress, Po and Crane laid on the floor, amidst the embrace of slumber. Mantis was the only one awake, but his eyes were lightless. They told a story; a story of regret, a story of mistakes…

A story of _sorry_.

Viper sighed. This day was a mess.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Story Miscellaneous  
> #4:The Author can emphasize and relate to Crane's character, this may have be the reason for Story Miscellaneous #3  
> #5:The Author is an amateur writer, but considering his plans for this story, an ambitious one too.  
> #6:This Story will feature a total of 3 Original Characters that would have any impact on the story, one of the being the villain, and Lao Shu.  
> #6A:Asterisk for Story Miscellaneous #6: Sadly, Lao will only play a role in establishing Crane's character and his motivation, conflict.  
> But if you amazing people who read this decide that you guys would like him back, I can alter the climax in a way for the old goose to have a role.
> 
> Chapter 2 Miscellaneous  
> #1:The Author knows that the Urn of Whispering Warriors was destroyed by Po (again) in KFP3, but the Furious Five wasn't there to see it, so please, don't call me out one that.  
> #2:Wind is not an actual element in Chinese culture, it is thought of as too wild and uncontrollable. The Author decided to recognize this fact, but also dance on the border of reality by still including it, even if it is emphasized that it isn't part of the Five Elements.  
> #3:The scene with Mantis and Viper was only added in the second draft of Chapter 2. Viper's character arc was supposed to start there, but the Author recognized that his skills were lacking to alter the scene in a way, that would serve her planned character arc.  
> #3A:Asterisk for Chapter Miscellaneous #3:I apologize if I got the reason for crane sleeping habits wrong, I couldn't actually find a reason why they sleep upright, only the reason for why they sleep on one leg.


	3. Typhoon Unleashed

Waking up to pain is a common occurrence when doing martial arts, what with sore muscles and joints being a factor.

Waking up to _excruciating_ pain, your body aching like it is on fire while simultaneously feeling like you could take on the world and run laps around China is another story. Because it isn't just overwhelming as hell, it confuses you. The kind of confusion where you know you want to figure out the situation, but you are so confused and groggy, you don't even _know_ how to start the process of figuring out what you are confused about.

Hard to grasp the concept? It's okay, Crane had problems grasping anything at the moment. Such example was the memory of how he got to sleep. Weren't they in the middle of fighting bandits? Did he fall asleep in the middle of a battle? That would be troublesome. He just hoped the others were okay.

With a loud groan, he turned onto his side. Whatever he was sleeping on was kinda uncom-

Wait.

…

Why _was_ he sleeping on the ground?

He opened his eyes and looked down at his body. Sure enough, he was laying on his side. His right side to be exact, which also made him realize how badly his shoulder ached from sleeping on it all night. He also noticed a small blanket covering his long legs, little panda figures decorating the material, which made him stop for a moment and stare.

_All right… Not the weirdest sight I've woken up to._

He couldn't recall the last time he slept like this, though what he did remember were maddening back pains that made the rest of that day almost unbearable, and he suddenly did not want to wake up at all. To spice up this already amazing morning, his hazy mind reminded him of how problematic it would be to stand up. Damn inversely bending knees.

"Crane?"

Hearing Viper's soft voice, he raised his eyes. Not only did he see the snake curled up next to him, in her usual sleeping position, he also realized that _everyone_ was there, scattered around him and snoring in peace with no kind of replacement for a bed or covers. Except Po, he had a thin blanket hardly covering his stomach, and Crane made a note that he and his friend were apparently sharing the sides of a ruined cover. The rest of his friends had nothing else though, they were just sleeping on the hard, uncomfortable wooden ground.

Uncurling her body, Viper slithered up to the pained-looking bird, "How are you, sweetie?"

"I'm… peachy, actually." Crane replied. He attempted to get up to look at her, but froze midway.

"Woah, woah, woah, don't move! I'm working here!"

They heard the insect's voice before Mantis' head popped up from behind Crane. Holding an acupuncture needle in his foreleg, he gave a halfhearted stink-eye to the frozen bird. Crane wanted to apologize or at least nod in understanding, had it not been because unseen chains were keeping his body from making the smallest of movements.

Rolling his eyes, Mantis went back to work. He threw the needle over his shoulder and took out another from Crane's backside, this one from the neck. It had an immediate effect, and the bird collapsed onto the ground, groaning as the pain of waking up came back to him.

"Since when were you there?" Crane murmured as he massaged his sore head.

"For sometime," Mantis answered, taking out the rest of the needles in quick succession, "Woke up to you making weird bird noises. Thought you had a seizure. Or, y'know, a weird dream."

Crane groaned when he felt the last of the needles leave his body, the pain of waking up fading gradually. Viper was gently stroking his free wing with the end of her tail soothingly, smiling at him the whole time.

"O-kay," Mantis said, jumping off from Crane, "You know the drill. Do you feel dizzy, nauseous, disoriented, or about ready to just give up and die?"

"Dizzy and disoriented are synonyms, are they not?" the avian asked in a whisper, letting the wing that has been covering his face slide down onto the ground.

Mantis' face fell and so did his empathy towards his patient. "If you have time to be a smartass, then I think you are fine."

"All right, all right, sorry," The avian tried to amend, "I feel a little weird."

Viper and Mantis shared a glance, before the snake cleared her throat.

"Weird, how?"

"My back hurts like hell for one."

"Sleeping in an unnatural position and on the hard ground." Mantis noted by the book, "Your spine won't throw any birthday parties to you anytime soon."

"And… my throat is dry."

"Effects of dehydration and last day's heat. Your lungs are still waiting for a thank you, by the way."

"And… energized?"

"That's- huh?"

Crane turned his head to look at his friends.

"I feel energized. Powerful. Like, I could take on the _world_."

The smaller Masters shared another glance, this one nervous. Mantis shook his head at the silent question of Viper, signalling that no, this was not normal to feel like after getting knocked out.

" _Yeeeah_ , no. You aren't taking on any kind of world these days. Doctor's orders."

"Can I stand up at least?"

With a distracted 'sure', Crane's friends grabbed his left wing and helped him stand up. It didn't go swimmingly, the thin legs of the bird were still not entirely awake. He flailed a little when the prickling irony-feeling of his unused appendages reached him, and consequently almost fell forward, but he ended up finding his balance. He sighed when he deemed his body safe for standing, and smiled a happy, if a little shy smile.

They didn't notice the wind picking up for a fragment of a second.

"You good?" Mantis asked.

"Yeah, I think I am," to emphasize his point, Crane rearranged his legs in a form that looked more natural and, dare he say, confident.

" _Eeerm_."

Surprisingly, the gobsmacked sound didn't come from the group of theirs. The three turned to its direction and saw both Tigress and Monkey out of sleep, looking at them with disbelief written over their startled faces. Before Crane could ask what was so weird, he noticed the simian's finger pointing at something _behind_ him. He, Viper and Mantis turned and… didn't have a single clue what they were seeing.

On the wall that divided Monkey's room from his, there was a large slash going horizontally. It was easy to realize how _large_ that was; it cut in literally above Po's still sleeping form, matching the panda's size in comparison.

"How did tho-" Crane started to ask, but his beak froze mid-word. He couldn't believe what his eyes were telling him, because when he raised his wing to point at the wall, its fabric and wood both got cut into with a drawled out tearing sound, making another gash. Spooked, he drew his wing back, just in time for the floor to explode next to his right leg.

" _Whoa_!" he said, stepping back from the erupting splinters. His gaze travelled to his wing as he unfolded it with the utmost care. He took notice of the black feathers on the inside right away, and after turning his appendage, he inspected the marks.

The room's peaceful air was suddenly no more, an ever-moving breeze began circling between the walls, tickling the different furs, scales and feathers with a cool touch.

"'Wind'? Where did this come from?!"

"Crane."

The bird in question looked up and saw his friends looking back at him weirdly. He needed a moment to identify the feeling; caution.

"Don't you… feel a little weird? I mean, weirder than before," Mantis asked.

Crane did feel 'weirder than before', his entire body was denser and heavier to carry all of a sudden. A low humming also bounced inside his ears, a soft tune, but barely noticeable.

"I do. W-what's going on?"

The breeze picked up the pace and evolved into a high wind that moved the painting on the wall and the edges of their clothes.

"Buddy, your eyes-"

"What of my eyes?!"

"They are glowing."

Crane's breaths quickened. The hollow and pulsing essence of panic spread from the core of his gut with incredible speed, and what's worse is that he was losing control to it. He didn't know what was going on, what was happening to him, what is that word doing on his wing or why can't he suddenly control wind. He knew he was supposed to have some control over the chaotic element, but never this much. Barely pointing at something should not make holes on his walls!

And now his eyes were glowing? Crane whipped his wing in front of his face, and sure enough, yellow light reflected from the feathers, which meant that _his eyes were actually frickin' glowing_!

The high wind circled inside the room and gained enough strength that Mantis now had to ground himself so to not be moved. The rest of the Masters noticed this phenomenon, some even realized the fact that the center of the wind was their close-to-be panicking friend.

Horrifying conclusions were made.

"Crane," Tigress said firmly, "You have to calm down. _Now_."

"I d-don't understand."

"Crane?"

"This is weird. Impossible! What's going on with me?!"

"Crane!"

As the Master of the Crane Technique hyperventilated and ignored the outside world, the wind in the room went wild. It picked up Viper and Mantis with no real effort, throwing the snake over to Monkey's room while the insect met the only solid wall headfirst. Monkey tried resisting it, but the invisible hands snatched him with ease. Fortunately, he found a hold on the still sleeping and the very much grounded Po's arm.

Tigress, seeing as she was the only one capable of putting a stop to the situation, fought through the miniature gale. She descended onto all fours and grounded her claws into the wooden floor. Steadily, she made her way towards Crane. The bird had his eyes frozen onto his now glowing wings.

"CRANE! LOOK AT ME!"

"I don't understand, I don't understand, I don't understand, I don't-"

Tigress shut her eyes and silently apologised for what she was about to do.

She raised her open palm, fighting against the wind as it tried to take advantage of her sudden imbalance, and hit the bird on the side of his neck with precision and care. The move was effective, and Crane dropped back to unconsciousness.

Consequently, the wind died down. Like it was never there.

There was a beat of silence in the room, which only Po's loud, obnoxious yawn and the sound of him getting up broke.

"Goob momning guyz." the panda slurred, rubbing his eyes, "How iz 'rane?"

The lack of answers made Po stop what he was doing and look around the messy room; Holes in the walls, Crane's little bed thingy, pillows and blanket in the corner, the painting the avian made yesterday sticking out of the door like someone smashed the picture into it. He also noticed Monkey next to him, panting like he just finished one of Shifu's punishment runs around the village. Viper was dizzily slithering back to the room through one hole, before she collapsed, groaning. Turning his head, his eyes landed on the knocked out Mantis' green body, twitching on the ground. There was Tigress too, standing above Crane's unmoving form, her hand looking like one of those judo-karate chops.

"Did I sleep through somethin'?"

* * *

The library of the Jade palace was usually an orderly and clean room. Imposing shelves filled with scrolls containing everything there is to know about the morals and the beauty of Kung Fu. Master Oogway had written these scrolls himself throughout the years, and by now, the value of these pieces of knowledge were on par with gold and silk. The room was usually orderly, because at the present time, most shelves were scarce of those sacred papers. The missing scrolls were either closed and placed in a pile on the central table, or were being read by Master Monkey, Master Viper or Master Shifu.

It was long over noon, but the events of this morning were still fresh in everyone's mind. Shifu, after hearing a detailed version of what happened, wasted no time snatching the closest two Masters and brought them to the library with him. Their goal was to find anything related to the Vase of the Wu Xing. If they were lucky, they could even get the Elemental Chi back into its place, preferably without hurting Crane.

There has been a constant silence in the room, only interrupted when one of the Masters closed a scroll and unfolded another one. No one wanted to stop to chat, because no one knew what wasting time could mean.

No one, except Monkey.

"Y'know, I seriously question that some of these are written by Oogway."

Viper and Shifu glared at him.

"Why's that, Master Monkey?"

"Well, call me crazy, but I cannot imagine the old turtle writing about the alluring beauty of female warriors and how to use those in the way of Kung Fu," Monkey replied, snickering as he turned the scroll so Viper could see it. Said snake tilted her head as she scanned the page, a little more interested in its content.

"Ah yes, that scroll." Shifu said, his scowl easing, "I remember it fondly. In the days of the old Furious Five, Oogway had all of us go a week living by the way of female warriors. Nevermind the fact that most us were males and had to survive the week with make-up on."

Monkey smiled widely and leaned closer "Did he make you go down to the village like that?"

"Daily. The best part was when he arranged an event where we had to showcase our feminine side to the Valley of Peace. It was almost as grand as the choosing of the Dragon Warrior."

Monkey laughed at the image. "Man, what I would give to see that."

"It was the single most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to me," Shifu shuddered, "But, to be fair, we shared the embarrassment and it helped us forge the comradeship that made the first Furious Five. Now that I think about it, I should advise Po to do the same to you."

Monkey immediately lost his smile and chocked on his own saliva. " _What_?! Please Mas- _Shifu_ , don't do this to us! Only Viper would enjoy it, and maybe Crane, 'cause he likes colors and stuff, but the rest of us would literally die! Of shame!"

It emphasized his point when the snake master to his right squealed in delight with a wide smile on her face. She was completely lost in that scroll.

"I didn't even think about doing that! This is so smart. And beautiful, my God…"

Monkey motioned towards her with both his hands. "See?"

"Dignity is something that could be regained overtime. Losing it would certainly give everyone a new perspective on life," Shifu retorted, barely holding in an amused chuckle at the horror on Monkey's face. Before said Master could beg (because he sure looked desperate enough to be doing that), the red panda whipped out another scroll and held it out in front of Monkey's face.

"For now, we have more important matters to attend. But first, before I forget."

The Master took the scroll and unfolded it curiously.

"I heard from Po that you are ready for the next and final step to become a weapon specialist." Shifu continued, a proud smile on his face, "This scroll contains techniques that are suited for Grandmasters, who have perfected the Monkey way of Kung Fu and the handling of a particular weapon."

Have you ever seen a wanderer finding the truth or the faith he was looking for and realizes that this finding enables him to finally settle down and live an actual life? Because if so, this was how Monkey looked. Happy, yet cautious, like he wasn't sure he deserved this. Uncertain, whether this is really it, or there will be more to come. That there is more of the road.

"Are… are you sure Shifu? Am I really ready for this? Isn't this too much?"

"The Dragon Warrior told so, so I would imagine it's a yes."

"But I'm asking you."

"And I'm answering you."

"That was not an answer."

"Considering the context, it indeed was."

Monkey groaned and head-butted the table. "You will not answer me, are you?"

Shifu smiled.

"Exactly."

Monkey glanced at the scroll in his hand. He was honestly touched and elated, but at the same time… maybe he wasn't ready yet. He knew that when it came to who was the strongest of them; they always regarded him at the last places. Not because he sucked or anything, but his main strength that made him unique wasn't as impressive or flashy as the others'. It was literally the fact that no one knew what he was about to do. While some would regard unpredictability as the best skill of all, in his and many others' eye, it was more like a great asset instead of a fighting style. That's why he took up learning Bo staff wielding.

But who knows, maybe with this scroll, he can finally rise to Tigress' pure skill, Mantis' strength, Crane's wings or Po's Dragon Warrior-ness.

"Thank you, Master."

All of this out of the way, they went back to their search for answers.

…

But not five minutes later, the air in the library changed phenomenally.

"Master Viper, I must have misheard you. Would you, please, say that again? Slowly, this time."

There was a moment of quietness, where the snake in question collected her thoughts.

"There… is nothing about the history of the Vase here. We looked through every scroll, that was about artifacts, Chi and such."

Shifu's answer was a maybe-a-little-bit-fake, raspy laugh.

"That is impossible. This room contains every knowledge concerning Kung Fu."

"Maybe the Vase is not connected to Kung Fu?" Monkey asked.

"Master Oogway taught me about the scroll himself. I've seen him read the scroll with my own eyes. Surely you found that?"

Shifu got the answer to his question in the form of a brown, wrinkled and worn-out scroll put in front of him. What shocked the red panda was its contents:

_'Elemental Chi could be alive. It could be not alive. The Vase is a mystery. It is also an open book. The only thing set in stone would be the task for future generations to discover the true beauty of the elements.'_

The rest of the page was blank. Shifu didn't have the mind capacity to plan a response.

"So…" Monkey asked, awkwardly shuffling in his place, "Should we panic now?"

Getting out of his disbelief, Shifu rubbed his forehead, trying to ease the impending headache. This new turn on the situation complicated many things. He had believed there would be at least _something_ about the Vase of the Wu Xing that could help Master Crane, but apparently Oogway recorded none. Whether it was on accident, or his Master deliberately wanted to mess with him, he didn't know. He wanted to believe it was on accident, but then again, his master did tell him that there were no accidents.

Case on point, something needed to be done now. Master Crane couldn't control Elemental Chi, and Shifu knew that this could lead to undesired consequences. Even with the obvious destruction one wrong move could make, the mental impact worried Shifu the most. He did just convince the bird he is worthy of living in the Jade Palace, so if he knew that he is basically a ticking bomb that could even kill one of his friends with a wrong move, he would surely do something irrational and brash.

Running into this deadend was a bigger problem than it first seemed.

Frustrated, Master Shifu stepped back from the table and walked over to the nearest window to contemplate.

"Master, what should we do now?"

Hearing Viper's worried, borderline desperate voice, Shifu didn't even try to fix the honorific. He just sighed and closed his eyes.

"Without any possible way of knowing how to extract the Chi from Master Crane, we can only hope that him and the Dragon Warrior will find a way to control it."

"Do you really think Po could teach him control over that power?" Viper asked, "I mean, if panicking is enough to bring this much destruction…?"

"Master Po is pre-eminent in the art of Chi control. If anyone can teach Master Crane, it will be him."

"But these two Chis are different. You said it yourself yesterday. What if Po cannot help at all?" Monkey asked.

It was worrisome how Shifu didn't answer immediately.

"If he cannot truly help, then it all depends on Master Crane in the end. There is the saying; _'When the student is ready, the teacher will appear'_."

Shifu's students didn't look anymore reassured, but nodded along nonetheless. They couldn't argue with old wisdom.

"Maybe there is another place?"

The hesitant question got their attention.

"Could you elaborate, Master Monkey?"

"Well… maybe there is a scroll somewhere that is not here. Like, can there be a place in China with a scroll about the Vase?"

Viper, finding the question valid enough, turned to Shifu.

The red panda was pondering this suggestion. "There could be one place with such information, but it's still not completely certain."

"What place?"

"That would be the Emperor's own library. It is said that the knowledge of a thousand years are stored there, within the grand walls of the Holy Palace. Be it secrets of the Empire or the discoveries of old minds, everything is there."

Viper and Monkey shared a surprised glance.

"Sounds like an 'if all else fails' kind of place." the simian Master agreed, "How do we get an audience with the Emperor though?"

"It shouldn't be hard. After putting a stop to Lord Shen's plans, Emperor Kekao started to view the Masters' Council as his allies and began making bridges with the Grandmasters."

"Why bridges though? Temples look fancier."

Shifu's deadpan face was so flat, Monkey was only half laughing at his own joke. That didn't stop Viper from hitting his nape. Thankfully, he was saved from further violence when they heard a knock on the door of the library. Soon, it opened and Master Tigress stepped in.

"Master Shifu, I've come with news." She said, bowing in respect.

Shifu nodded. "About Master Crane, I believe?"

The tiger straightened out, but didn't answer right away. She hesitated, which did not go unnoticed. And if Tigress hesitated, something dire must have happened.

"Yes. He recently woke up and began his training with Po."

Viper gulped. "How is he?"

"Crane is fine." Tigress shrugged, "He is still shaken up, but Po is encouraging him to view his newfound situation as an opportunity to be better. He volunteered to teach Crane how to handle Elemental Chi, but his methods are…"

"Is there a problem with the Dragon Warrior's way of training, Master Tigress?"

"There is absolutely nothing wrong with those." the tiger tried to amend, "It's just, he dragged Crane down to the village and I'm positive I heard 's name mentioned. Excuse my disbelief, but I cannot imagine how Po's father could be of any help."

"And Mantis?" Monkey asked, reminding the room about his best friend's unknown whereabouts.

"He went too, claiming that he needed to monitor his patient."

"Right, I bet he was just hungry."

Shifu cleared his throat, catching the conversation before it went adrift. "The Dragon Warrior's methods may be questionable, but the results are indisputable."

"Of course." Tigress replied.

She couldn't really argue with that point. The panda put a lot of emphasis on training them in ways that suited the individual's need in advancement and enjoyment. These usually meant that Po took one hobby of the Five and fused it together with training. Examples included Viper's ribbon dancing or Mantis' upkept medical practice. Tigress didn't have an actual hobby per se, she was absolutely dedicated to The Way in every aspect of life. This didn't discourage Po though, and he got around that. He built on one of her defining character traits, her dedication to be better. This roughly translated into putting together the hardest, toughest, borderline impossible obstacle courses. Running through the village with bowls of noodle soup balanced on her head and hands, said soups being on fire, while she simultaneously had to avoid touching any patch of ground where the sun cast its light, meaning she had to keep to the shadows of the houses without setting them on fire was an instance.

She couldn't lie, it was good training, against traditions it may be.

In the meantime, Shifu raised an eyebrow when Tigress did not excuse herself even after delivering the news. She was just standing here, contemplating, like she wanted to tell them something else that may be even bigger in magnitude than her first notification.

"Is there something else?"

"Yes. A messenger goose arrived recently and came with news from the Emperor himself."

Tigress did not understand why suddenly everyone looked at her like she found a way to enlightenment and brought it before them. It was disconcerting how she could taste anticipation in the air.

"What did Emperor Kekao inquire?"

Tigress exhaled slowly and clicked her claws.

"The message was not sent by Emperor Kekao. The capital city of Lin'an has been recently attacked by a large bandit horde. There were noticeable amount of casualties on both sides, but the defense was successful. Even then, some bandits got into the city, and they killed the Emperor and his family."

…

" _What_?" Shifu jumped into a stand in his indignation.

"The Emperor is _dead_?"

"Him and his family." Tigress repeated sourly to Vipers utterly astounded question. The snake Master struggled with not getting emotional in place.

"His family? So every single Kekao is…?" Shifu asked, though it sounded more like a demand.

"Dead. According to the message, they have been assassinated at the same time. The Grand Council has recently chosen a new Emperor. He sent the message."

"So it was an organized putsch." Shifu concluded with a frown.

This news was truly troubling. That there was a big enough group of bandits to rival the Chinese Imperial Army meant that the unity of the country was at a critical level. Add to the fact that someone eradicated the entire dynasty of Honghe, the stability of the Empire was probably down the gutter. Unless this new Emperor produced a miracle, a civil war would break out in the following month or so. This must be why his Majesty was contacting them; to request help.

"Did the new Emperor tell his name?"

"He called himself Emperor Qiang Lei."

"Lei…" Shifu murmured, tasting the word. He found the name oddly familiar, but for the life of him, he couldn't recall where he heard that name.

"Master Shifu, the Emperor's message contained a request as well." Tigress spoke up, retrieving Shifu's attention, "He asked for an attendance in Lin'an with the Masters of the Jade Palace. He says it's dire."

"Wait, wait, wait!" Monkey said out loud, obviously amidst mirth, "The Emperor, is asking for an attendance, with us?! Don't tell me I'm the only one who finds this ironic!"

They too found it ironic. The Emperor never, ever asked for an attendance with anybody. Even the leaders of foreign lands had to ask his Majesty to meet, never the other way around. The only way this request could have been even more tradition-breaking is if the Emperor asked to come to the Jade Palace.

"I cannot decide whether this is concerning or flattering." Shifu noted, half-heartedly agreeing with Monkey. He made his way towards they exit of the library, "We'll start packing up right away."

"But what about Crane?" Viper asked, as she her friends followed the red panda. Upon hearing the question, Shifu stopped but did not face them.

"I have the utmost confidence in Master Crane's ability to find a way to coexist with his newfound power, especially now that he is under the tutelage of the Dragon Warrior. I would advise you to follow my example."

With that, he left the library. The three masters shared a glance, and after a shrug from Monkey, they followed Shifu.

* * *

The attack of the pigs did little to change the life in the village. They were just too used to the constant yearly onslaughts. For a place called Valley of Peace, it sure as hell was a popular target for bandits of all kinds, wanting to steal a prized artifact or to challenge the most famous figures of Kung Fu. The villagers accepted this pretty easily, especially when Oogway chose Po as the Dragon Warrior and he began training the villagers too. After that, assaults were like flies on a warm summer evening; annoying, but ultimately inconsequential. On the flip side, the aforementioned Kung Fu figures reacted the same way; not batting an eye on the fact that the children were joyously running around, playing alone or together, while the adults made casual conversation on the streets, like it wasn't barely a day ago their home came close to getting ransacked. This was the reason Master Shifu, Master Viper, Master Tigress and Master Monkey were casually strolling down the main road, their goal, the _Dragon Warrior's Noodles & Tofu_ ("Talk about advertising" the simian once remarked), within their sights.

Stepping through the circular arch of the entrance, the place was filled with customers as per usual. Some of them huddled into a big group around one of the back tables on the right side, close to the door, that lead into the kitchen and the Ping residence. There were rabbits, geese, pigs and some more unique species, or at least unique in the Valley of Peace. One of these were the pandas, represented with two people; Li Shan, helping Mr. Ping in the kitchen and Po, in the middle of the huddle, eating a bowl of noodle soup and speaking animatedly.

What caught the newcomers' attention right away was that Crane was nowhere to be seen.

"So get this," Po said, a thread of noodle on the side of his face as he finished drinking his soup, "The bandit was coming at me with a spear with a really pointy end, while he screamed like he was completely nuts. He was like 'AHHHHHH!', and I see in his eyes that he wouldn't stop. What I do is I ground myself with my left foot and with an awesome spin-kick, I launch his weapon out of his hands, hitting another bandit on the face!"

"That was cool, I give you that," Mantis' voice came from the center of the huddle, signalling he too was there, eating probably.

"Cool? It was awesome! The look on the pig's face was hilarious!"

"Which pig? The one that had the spear or the one that met the spear?"

"Well, the other didn't really have a look on his face. Since, y'know, he was knocked out and stuff."

"That's true."

Seeing that the topic was on hold while both of them resumed eating, Shifu notified them of their presence.

"I hope the soup is filling, having a good meal should be a daily task for any practitioner of Kung Fu."

Po, with his face stuffed, turned towards them and smiled awkwardly. The huddle dispersed after realizing that there would be no more stories now that the rest of the Jade Palace residence arrived. They either left the shop or took a seat at another table to order.

Po swallowed what he had in his mouth. "It is, but something's different. It _tastes_ different. Like it has something in it that it didn't have before…"

"Maybe Ping actually put a secret ingredient into his Secret Ingredient soup?" Mantis guessed, taking another half-spoonful of the meal.

"Could be. Ever since my Dads began working together, they have been experimenting. There is something with the tofu too."

Tigress shamelessly took Po's spoon and tasted the soup. After some thinking, she snorted.

"Star anise. Not bad."

"You sure?" Mantis asked, looking into his own bowl of soup, "I coulda swore I smelled clove."

Tigress scoffed. "Don't be ridiculous."

"Let me try!" Monkey said, taking the silverware from the tiger and getting a spoonful of Po's soup. The panda looked scandalized by how blatantly people were stealing from his meal.

Monkey slurped it up and tasted it. All eyes were on him to decide who was right.

"Hm. Tastes like… fennel seed."

" _What_?!"

"Oh my god…"

The simian put his hands up in defense. "I'm just sayin' what I'm tastin'."

"From my soup nonetheless." Po grumbled as he snatched his spoon back.

While this was going on, Shifu looked around the shop in search for Crane. Much to his confusion, the bird was still nowhere to be seen. Had Tigress misheard Po's plan, perhaps? Unlikely, as the panda was sitting right in front of him, which is evidence enough that the tiger's hearing was as good as ever, But then where was Crane?

"As amusing as it is, Dragon Warrior," Shifu spoke up with a passive face, even if his mouth stretched into a thin line, presumably to stop from curving upwards, "May I ask where Master Crane is?"

Po swallowed the next portion of soup and pointed towards the kitchen. "Oh, he is right there."

Right on cue, the door opened and the bird in question stepped out, but he wasn't like what they expected. The most distinctive traits from the Crane they come to know and love were the little apron wrapped around his purple sash and many bowls of soup balanced on his wings and head. Three soups on each wing, and five more on his hat.

The dude looked afraid to breathe, much less to move.

"Eh… H-hey guys. How are you doing?"

He did not wait for their answer and moved with careful steps, rare and coordinated, the bowls occasionally shaking when he lost his footing. His face was awkward, and he refused to connect eyes with anyone, clear signs of how uncomfortable he was doing this in front of his friends and Teacher. Nevertheless, he continued on his way, and arrived next to the closest occupied table where a female pig with her kid was sitting.

"Here is your order, Ma'am." Crane said and gently slid two bowls onto the table from his hat.

"About time already. What took you so long?"

"I apologize, w-we have a lot of customers today. I brought your order as fast as I could."

"Not fast enough. Do you want my sweet bean to starve?"

"Sweet bean…?" Crane asked, before he noticed the kid on the table, already gobbling down the noodle soup. "OH! No, I absolutely would not! I apologize if I gave you the impression."

The mother scoffed. "See to it then. My friend is at another table with her own little star. I hope you know who to serve next if you don't want a complaint."

Crane gulped and gave the slightest of nods. "C-certainly, Ma'am."

With that, he stepped away from the table and looked over the shop. He didn't need a lot to locate who she told him to find; it was the only person in the whole place who was giving him a deadly glare. She also sat at the other side of the place, so he needed to get through the labyrinth of tables to arrive there, which would need some time to happen, time Crane was not sure he had. Cringing, he sighed and made his way there.

In the meantime, Shifu was seriously reconsidering scolding Tigress about trusting Po's training methods.

"Po, would you care to tell me the benefits of this… exercise?"

The panda's eyes lightened up. "Okay! So from what you guys told me about this morning, it was obvious there were a lot of things needed to be done. You see, I thought about it and I figured, these problems formed layers. And these layers needed to be solved one by one. So I thought, why don't we start from the top, then? Crane's cool powers only caused damage when he moved his wings quickly. So I gave him a task that would teach him how to be focused on slow movements."

"Starting with the physical problems?" Shifu asked with an agreeing nod, "Wise move. Am I right to assume that the next layer would be the mental dimension?"

"Oh yeah, it apparently caused a vortex or something. Inside the room, which, for the record, would have been kinda awesome to see, but oh well," Po said, begrudge in his tone.

Meanwhile, Crane quickly served the 'more troublesome' customer and continued onto the more pleasant ones, who liked him or something akin. He had just served a family of adorable (and nice) rabbit family, feeling a tad bit happy at how polite and grateful the parents were. His hat was now bowl-less, while there were only one more soup held on each of his wings. With the goal in mind, he scrutinized the shop for the last hungry tables.

His eyes swept through the place and found his prize.

The small piglet was there, sitting alone at a table with his eyes downcast. Mr. Ping gave him new clothes this morning, presumably one of Po's old ones, and a cup of Li Shan's steaming tea. Crane's heart went out to the kid, especially when those devastated and affrighted pair of eyes met his. And boy, oh boy, the way they lightened up by just a tiny ounce, clear sign that the little piglet was happy or at least relieved to see him, Crane couldn't help but smile freely.

For a second, he forgot about that sizzling patch on his right wing, constantly reminding him of this morning, the morning that he oh-so wanted it to go away and believe it was just a weird nightmare.

"Hey sport, how are you?"

His only answer was a subtle nod.

"Okay… Here's a little food. Don't worry about paying, I took care of that." the avian said, putting the meal down on the table right next to the tea. He expected the piglet to dig in right away, he _did_ look rather thin compared to any of his species he has ever seen, yet that's not what happened. The kid watched the soup like he had never seen one before, questions swimming in his eyes, before he looked back up at Crane with a silent thought;

_Mine?_

"It's yours to eat, d-don't worry about it." he replied, trying to muster the most soothing tone in his vocal range.

Much to his relief the kid grasped his given pair of chopsticks, and, even if with a hesitant beginning, began munching away on the noodle soup. Crane considered this sight, and knowing that those ugly wounds had also been tended to with the utmost care, he let his shoulders sag completely. A relief, where the ugly phantom atrophied from his shoulders, who had been clinging to him and whispering many 'what ifs' that made him want to hug himself in a corner.

That's when his eyes noticed the figures outside the shop.

Through the arch, he saw two people walking by slowly as they passed the noodle shop. A pair of geese, the familiar features coinciding in his mind into recognizable faces. The elder one was pulling a little rickshaw which had bags of all sizes piled into its seat instead of other people, while the smaller goose toddled next to him. Sparing a glance at the piglet, still occupied with eating, he passed the table. Once he was out of the labyrinth, he picked up the pace as much as he could without spilling the noodles or doing anything 'quick' movement wise, so as not to go against Po's words. Reaching the exit, he sighed in relief when he saw the geese being still in hearing range.

"Lao! Sir!"

The rickshaw halted and two heads turned to him. Crane could see that they recognized him right away, but did not respond. Instead, the elderly goose told something to the smaller one, getting a barely noticeable nod. The elder then walked over and bowed upon arriving before him.

"Master Crane. Is there something you need?"

Sadly, Crane could not reciprocate the act of respect, thanks to the bowl of steaming soup in his wings. Instead, he opted for a nod.

"Yeah. Just wanted to ask how are you doing. With the shop and everything I mean."

Lao sighed tiredly, not even trying to mask his sadness.

"Catastrophic. We barely had anything connected to us, and even those have been taken. Our savings, necessities, family treasures. All of them. Everything."

"Oh…" Crane said, staring into the soup. "Can't I or the guys help somehow? Maybe to compensate?"

The goose waved him off. "Your help is appreciated, but it's a lost cause. Even if we did get back onto our toes, this beautiful village would never feel home again."

"So you are… moving?"

"We have no other choice. I realize this valley is no longer a safe place for my family, small it may be. We need to find a new place to settle, where a new beginning awaits. Where my grandson can flourish into a man of its own kind."

Crane could not reply. He felt like he was being beaten from the inside. He wanted to reach out and beg for them to stay, to give them another chance, but what would that accomplish? Humiliate himself further in front of his ex-admirer?

Speaking of ex-admirers. "How's him?"

Lao ignored his croaky, heavy voice. "He is… shook, not going to lie to you, young man. But don't worry about him, you are still his favorite person in the world. Even if you changed professions."

Crane's eyes widened as he realized that for a famous Kung Fu Master, prancing around in an apron and a bowl of soup may be a confusing sight to see.

"Eh-hehe, it's not what it looks like, I swear! It's just… community service?"

"Truly admirable nobility," the elder said with a bittersweet smile, before even that melted off his face. Lao's hands moved forward, Crane didn't even notice he had kept them behind his back the whole time, and suddenly he had a _very darling instrument_ laying before his legs in all its shining glory and outstanding beauty.

"With the end of my shop, I believe these will be more useful at your possession," Lao said, also producing Po's elbow pads and putting them next to the erhu, "I wish you a great continuation to your story, Master Crane. I feel like this is only the beginning."

With a bow of respect, which Crane refused to admit he deserved, the elder walked back to the rickshaw. He patted Xiao on the head, murmuring something the avian Master couldn't hear, and continued their journey to the border of the valley. Crane felt a lump forming in his throat as he idly watched their figures get smaller and smaller. He briefly saw the little gosling look back at him, with a little Mantis figure clutched in his small wings. His grandfather must have made it overnight.

Crane felt the tear, but did nothing to stop it. He stood in the middle of the main street, wearing an apron, with a bowl of lukewarm soup in his wing, and he was an emotional disaster too. The farer the small family went, the more he convinced himself that he was just a failure, nothing else. The tear reached his beak and creeped down around its girth. When it reached the point where it should have left the beak and fell to the ground, something different happened.

It moved sideways midair.

It _floated._

The single droplet of tear wavered as it circled Crane's body in a moderate pace. It also didn't seem to have ideas of stopping soon. At the same time, the soup inside the bowl shook, the thrown out droplets of the delicacy joining the tear. As it continued sending out droplets, a strip of light brown liquid carrying threads of noodles formed around him, which he did not notice. He didn't even perceive how his yellow eyes shone and the tune of a soft, calming voice started to sing in a peaceful tune that only he could hear.

"Hey Crane, what are you-" Viper began, before cutting herself off with a gasp. It shook Crane out of the sad stupor he was in and turned to look at her. But instead of looking at the snake, his eyes caught onto the phenomena happening around him. In his startlement, he let go of the empty bowl, crashing it onto the ground to pieces.

"D-do my eyes glow?"

Viper could only nod numbly.

"I h-hear a song. That's bad. How do I… _turn this off_?!"

"Just, don't panic Sweetie, okay? Everything will be all right if you calm down."

Easier said than done. Not every day do you get noodle soup almost embracing you. Looking at the ring of liquid around him, his eyes also caught onto the cracked up earth under his legs.

"I'll…. I'll try. Yeah, try. I will. Promise? I m-mean, I promise!"

Viper gave him a reassuring smile. Even if it was painfully obvious that she forced it, Crane accepted it gratefully.

"What was that noise?"

Crane and Viper looked over to the entrance of to see their friends, Shifu, Mr. Ping and Li Shan standing here, with the guests of the shop behind them. Innocent curiosity filled the eyes of those who didn't witness this morning's event, probably thinking this was another spectacular display of Chi, while the rest were tense, ready to jump in if something happened.

What's worse, the kid was there too.

Tigress took a step forward. "All right Crane, here is what will happen. You will let Viper go over there to sooth you. If she cannot calm you down, I will have to repeat this morning, understood?"

Crane's eyes widened when he heard this. "No! Don't-" He shook his wings and his head, trying to gesture how much he disagreed with this plan.

This was a big mistake.

The moment he raised his wings to make the aforementioned gesture, a strong gust of wind blown forward, right in the middle of his friends and the guests. The blast blew the many animals back, some crashed into the tables, some were thrown right into the kitchen of the shop. As they were outside the place, Crane's friends were unlucky enough to hit the outside stone wall. Po, who shielded their impact caught Mr Ping, while Li Shan jumped in between the wall and the two smallest Masters, Mantis and Viper.

Crane frozen in place, his peak unhinged, his wings held up. His brain stopped functioning, unable to process the event, or anything that happened. His eyes swept through the pained forms of his friends, until they landed on the piglet; said kid sat on the ground, leaning on the wall of the shop with his back, touching a fresh, bleeding bruise on his shoulder. His shaking eyes bore onto Crane's shining yellow ones, and the avian realized how different they looked; that miniscule trust was no more, only uninhibited terror _of him_. Before Crane could utter anything, the piglet suddenly straightened out and began sprinting away from the scene, towards the border of the village, into the unknown.

Crane's chest felt numb and like a dense void. The soft tune persisted the whole time, trying to sooth him with its melody, but he was nothing but a hollow statue at the moment. Only Tigress' form shielding his view made him look up. He looked at his friend, who was clutching her left arm and was giving him a glare. Crane felt his body relax as he accepted what must be done. He presented his neck for the hit that was about to come.

His last thought was how much he hoped the tiger directed her glare at the situation, not him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Story Miscellaneous  
> #7:The Author has kept his inspirations upfloat with Zayde Wolf, Fall Out Boys, Imagine Dragons, The Score and several 80's songs.  
> #8:Crane's favorite song, the so-called 'Ascension of the Wise' is a song we mere earthlings and real people call 'Oogway's Ascend'.  
> #9:If you hadn't understood why The Author said he was ambitious, now you may understand it from the fact that the two main plot lines has been revealed  
> #9A:Gosh, what did I start, this is going to be more than a handful...
> 
> Chapter 3 Miscellaneous  
> #1:The final Chapter 3 and the draft bares great differences. The only untouched or unedited part of the original draft was Mantis' diagnostical question and Crane's 'smartass' answer.  
> #2:The eagle-eyed viewers can already see where the story was going, foreshadowing is a joy, yet it's a difficult task.  
> #3:The chapter was of great importance in nature, thus its complicated spirit was something the Author had to fight with.  
> #3A:Starting both two main plotlines is no joke guys, I wouldn't recommend doing it at home.


	4. Journey to Lin'an

The journey to Lin'an was long and strenuous, yet it wasn't the longest journey the Masters had to take.

That title went to the path to Gongmen. The road between the Tien Shan mountains, the home of the Valley of Peace, and the Southern Coast of China where Gongmen City resided was basically a cross-country journey. Lin'an was closer when one considered the travel by air, but it was still an eastern coast city. The Masters of the Jade Palace had to endure and get through the sands of the Takla Makan Desert, the peaks of the Altun Shan Mountains, and a lengthy and constant decline filled with forests, plains and rivers. The city of Lin'an was right at the place, where the Yangtze River poured into the East China Sea, so most travelers just simply followed the great river to visit the country's shiniest gem.

The place, where the person bestowed with the Mandate of Heaven lived.

But as of now, barely three days have passed, the city was nowhere near the horizon, and the Yangtze was still just gathering little threads of water as it flowed into its destined greatness. The life around this part of the river was quiet, the forest was thick, the surrounding hills towering, and the occasional village silent. It was a relaxing experience to say the least, but the word 'relax' did not immediately translate to 'calm' in everyone's dictionary.

"This is so boring, _ugh_."

Boring was a synonym too.

"Po, what changed in the last ten minutes?" Tigress asked with a steady voice, looking back at the panda.

Said Dragon Warrior had enough energy to raise his eyes to meet hers. "Well. Nothing really."

"Exactly," Tigress nodded, "And ten minutes ago you said the same thing. While not whining, might I add."

"And without the 'ugh' part," Mantis added from her shoulder.

"Hey, can you blame me? We already left the part where we look badass together, and that is the only exciting thing about journeys like this."

"You mean the 'cool walking down on the sand dune in a formation'?" Monkey asked from the side of Tigress, where he was busy studying the scroll he received from Shifu.

"Yes! See, that is awesome. With the sun behind us, shadowing our faces as we relentlessly go against the winds of sand and stuff."

"Explains your serious look and the random techniques you do," Mantis remarked.

"But this- this is _boring._ There is nothing cool about green leaves and bushes."

"You weren't whining that much when we were going to Gongmen," Tigress said.

"Because back then, I could occupy myself with the thought that we will kick some evil dude's butt. This is a _diplomatic mission_."

"He… has a point though. I'm not too fond of walking through China just to talk either," Mantis remarked, getting a glare from the tiger.

"If His Majesty the Emperor requested our help, the help of Kung Fu warriors, then there must be some fight to be had."

"Yeah, but what are the stakes? Who is the bad guy? Where are their henchmen? Or is it just a slightly bigger horde of bandits with absolutely no idea how to kick forward," Po said, animated limbs helping his reasoning.

"I wouldn't mind something like those pigs from yesterday, minus the smell. One swing and a dozen enemies are out," Monkey said with a smile, momentarily looking up from his read.

"Or a sneeze from Crane," Mantis shared his best friend's joke.

Hearing his friend's name, Po turned around to look back on their path. Something like ten or eleven steps behind wandered Crane and Viper, talking in whispers and murmurs. The bird was still shaken from the events occurred back in their home, but even with that, Po could still see the care and focus in the avian's steps. It made the panda smile how serious Crane was taking the lesson about slow movements, even with everything going on. To top it off, it was successful; throughout the journey, the bird has conjured no holes on the ground or vortices in the forests.

On the other hand, Po was _maybe_ a little worried. His eyes traveled to Crane's wings, which occasionally twitched and rattled. Sometimes they even unfolded to an extent before being pushed back by Crane's conscious. The panda gathered that his friend was literally itching for some flight, being a bird and what not. But then flying would need quick flaps, flaps that could lead to a part of China falling underground, which would not be that cool.

"Maybe you could continue on the first layer, Dragon Warrior. If you feel the burden of boredom," Shifu's voice reached back from the front, "The sooner are Master Crane's sneezes safe, the better."

Mantis and Monkey couldn't conceal their snickers completely, only Tigress' glare silenced them.

"All right, Shifu, I get it. I got it." Po replied with a fond smile of himself. With that, he halted in his stride to let his friends catch up.

"-you get what I'm saying? I don't really know what to do," Crane's strained shush said.

"You don't have to do anything. We'll be with you no matter what and we know you can master it."

"…Hopefully."

"Hey guys."

At the panda's greeting, both Viper and Crane turned their attention to him.

"Hey Po," Viper said, while Crane smiled, a little tired around the edges.

"Are you ready to continue your training?" Po asked, taking up their tempo of walking.

"I… hope so. What's the next step?"

"First, we'll call them layers from now on, okay?" the statement confused Crane but nodded, "Second, we are staying on the first layer, the physical layer. Because while it is good that you know how to not destroy everything you touch, you are still a warrior, and warriors cannot fight in slow-mo."

Crane unfolded his wing and looked at his mark. The mysterious black feathers greeted him with an onyx shine, and the avian master gulped when a snippet of that damned song found a way into his ear. He quickly folded his appendage back.

"That's fair… I suppose. How do I speed up?"

"Well, I've got few ideas. But for now, you will _fly_."

"Fly?" Crane sweatdropped, "A-are you sure about-"

"Absolutely! Your entire style revolves around doing air stuff in the _air_! How can you fight if you cannot get up there?" Po looked like what he was saying was the most logical conclusion ever, which was close to the truth. Still, Crane had doubts about this new lesson, even if he _really_ wanted to take the skies on. But, orders from the teacher were orders from the teacher, no matter how much he hesitated. Plus, Po was a master in all things Chi, so he should know what to do, right? Even if they are ideas.

Right?

"Okay…"

Crane crouched and readied himself to take off. He raised his wings, but had to stop when something touched the side of his leg. Tensed, he looked down just to see Viper smiling up at him with that fangless smile. He couldn't help but return it, albeit weakly, and took a deep breath.

"I can do it," Crane whispered, turning towards the sky, "…maybe."

With that, he launched himself into the air. His eyes were closed tight from the get-go, fearing that if he opened them, he would witness the disappearance of the realm of the living altogether. Needing to focus on something, anything, he ended up concentrating on the many sounds around him. He sincerely hoped that his friends' scream won't be amongst them. He flapped his wings five times, this was how much he dared to do, then stopped ascending when he reached a distance twice as high as the tallest tree in the area. He opted for keeping this height and freaking out right there.

"A-are you guys okay?! Please tell me you guys are fine, because-"

"WOHOO, CRANE!"

An exclamation of joy was not what he was expecting, not at all, and it made him tempted enough to open his eyes to a slit. On the ground, he saw his friends standing in a half circle, watching him with genuine smiles and relief adorned features. The intact and unharmed sight of the environment and his family made him open his eyes to a full and relax his muscles. It was just the cherry on the metaphorical cake when he saw Po actively cheering him on unabashedly. It made the waterfowl giggle.

"We're okay Crane, don't get your panties in a twist."

For once, Mantis' half-insulting, half-reassuring quip did not even bother his feathers. With new vigor, he flapped his wings and flew for real this time. He went in circles, zig-zagged in every direction possible, whooping along like the first time he tasted this sensation. He just wanted to fly, to feel the weightlessness after these days' chaos. The wind was with him, hugging his body and urging him on.

" _I can fly!_ "

Happiness colored his mood, spreading faster than ever before, the kind of happiness that makes the world so much more vibrant and active. Where the crown of the trees are not surrendering themselves to the force of wind, but dance with it to a happy tune, courtesy of the chaotic element. Where the ground did not crack in its dusty dryness, but flourished with the green warmth of life, feeding the roots of plants with such invisible enthusiasm. Where the Yangtze was not flowing because it must, but because it wants to carry on an adventure through China, where at the end, the prize is the unity with the sea. Like when a child wobbles up to his mother's loving arms for an embrace and a promise of love. Crane may have started crying too.

With the others though, the mood was quite different.

"Are you guys seein' what I'm seein'?"

"If you mean the trees under Master Crane, then yes Monkey, we are seeing it too."

It was a spectacle to have for sure. The trees on the imposing hill next to their road simultaneously flowered when the breeze from Crane's wings touched them. Leaves turned light green in waves, punk barks cleansed into stoic wood and lame stumps sprouted. This sight was much less scary than a vortex of deadly wind or a ring of noodle soup and tears, but still; Elemental Chi was at work, and by how ecstatic the avian Master looked, it was clearly messing with his emotions once again. It wasn't like Crane was never happy, but he was more of a soft-happy, not this kind of enthusiastic-happy.

" _Yeah!_ Hey Crane!"

The avian in question heard Po's voice and circled back above them.

"Yes, Master Panda?"

"Master Panda?" Po looked taken aback, not just because they never called him his 'technically official but not really' name, but because Crane said the words with such vitality, not even Po could reproduce them. His confusion was momentary, before he smiled again, "I like it. So, wanna take it a step further?"

"Yes!" Crane totally shouted his agreement. After he did that though, his expression froze, "I am ready, I just… need a little… _Ow._ "

The liveliness literally drained from him at once and pain replaced it.

"You need a little what? You okay?" Po asked, his own vigor deflating slightly.

"Yes, I'm… fine. My head hurts a little, 'guess I got a little lightheaded from the speed, hehe."

"Talk about mood swings…" Mantis whispered to Monkey. Shifu was carefully observing Crane, filing away all the new information they were currently getting in massive portions.

"All right!" the panda then took up a defensive stand and held up his right hand, his palm open. "Now come at me with that harpoon move of yours."

"Y-you sure? I don't-" Crane winced at the sudden throb in his head, "I don't think it is a fine idea."

"I agree. I think taking one step at a time is for the best," Tigress said amid her frown, still penetrating the hill's blossoming trees with her hard gaze.

"Hey, I'm not gonna break. I'm quite sturdy myself," Po said and patted himself on the belly to emphasize his point. Crane looked doubtful, but nodded.

The move Po was talking about is quite a technique. First, Crane has to nosedive from a high distance towards his target. Then, when he is close enough, he twists in the air, his wings and feet becoming a blur for his opponent. This is the key to the technique; the surprise. The enemy won't know which limb will strike from which direction, making it relatively impossible to defend against. Its main weakness lies in the fact that anyone with good enough reflexes can deflect it, which would leave the user completely at the mercy of their opponent. A decimating technique against weaker practitioners, an 'all-in' technique for those of the same skill, and a literal suicide attack against the more skilled Masters.

And now Crane would use it on Po's open and ready palm.

Narrowing his eyes at his target, he began the nosedive. A deadly projectile in the sky, that's what he was, but Po didn't relent. He took up an even steadier stance and smiled at his incoming friend. He even wiggled his stubby fingers at him, a little friendly taunting never hurt in the panda's opinion. What he didn't know was that the distance between where Crane was at the moment and where he started twisting was large enough for the avian's mind to understand the gesture and for the Elemental Chi to react to that tiny, insignificant, negligible flicker of annoyance that came in its wake.

The reaction was quite wild, one might say.

The rest of the Furious Five didn't even have time to get shocked when flames engulfed Crane's body, making him become a literal phoenix amid the technique. He began twisting into a blur, and from the outside it looked like some kind of big, fire lance was nearing Po. Crane's flaming left leg shot out suddenly and connected to the panda's arm, but Po stood his ground. There was a beat of silence as the vibrant yellow-eyed, body-covered-in-hot-fire Crane stood on one leg, the other being in the palm of a surprised Po. The avian didn't look like he cared about the simple fact that he was supposed to be screaming in pain and jumping into the Yangtze to extinguish himself. No, he was keeping eye contact with Po, who started to realize that:

A) his friend was on fire, which should not happen,

B) his friend's _leg_ was on fire, which also should not happen,

C) his friend's on-fire leg was in his palm, and-

D) his palm had an inflammable coating called _fur_ , which meant that the burning pain he was experiencing was _not_ because Crane's kick was a particularly strong one.

" _Wah_! Waaaaaaah!"

He waved his paw in a vain attempt to put out the fire. He looked to have forgotten about the river right next to him, because he was very intent on trying everything except the rational thing. He even tried to lick the flames away, but it was just too extraordinarily hot. Viper, Mantis and Monkey couldn't decide which spectacle to panic on; Phoenix Crane or trying-to-take-out-fire-by-hitting-trees Po. Tigress was the one who took a hurried step forward and marched up to Po, intent on solving the one problem that is actually solvable with their knowledge.

Shifu in the meantime was watching the other delinquent for their pause in the journey. Crane was barely visible under his new 'coating', the yellow tongues of the flames shined as bright as the avian's iris, but visible enough for Shifu to note the wide-eyed stare he was giving to his own being. The telltale sign of shock, the unhinged beak was there too for added emphasis.

"Uh, Ow, Tigress, hi, Tigress, wah! _Crane!_ " Po babbled while the tiger took hold of his fine paw and dragged him towards the Yangtze, intent on throwing the panda in altogether.

Shifu watched as Crane's eyes snapped up to Po and focused on the burning appendage. By the way the wind started tickling the red panda's long whiskers, the avian master's heart did not appreciate the image. The Elemental Chi didn't help his plain transparentness with emotions. Crane also seemed to notice Tigress' intentions with Po, as she hauled the panda from the woods towards the river, and the wind drove Shifu's whiskers sideways now. As the duo neared the red panda and the steadfast Yangtze next to him, Crane's tired face changed, his expression going slack. Then he turned, looking at the water beneath him.

Shifu gathered that he had an idea.

Sure enough, the avian narrowed his eyes at the river and took up his technique's basic stance; one wing in front of him, one wing pointing upwards, his legs far from each other in a shoulder length. He raised his outstretched wing and channeled chi into it. The shine appeared, much yellower than the red panda had last seen it. The bird did a slow upwards motion with his limb and Shifu's eyebrows rose to their max when a tiny thread of water raised itself up. Crane seemed to share his surprise too for a moment. He exhaled and murmured something Shifu's ears could not catch, then turned his whole body. His wings still outstretched towards the Yangtze, he did a motion, one that looked like he tried to throw something over his shoulder.

If he hoped for water, he had to be really disappointed, as the little thread went back to the flow with a small _'plop'_ like nothing happened. Shifu clicked his tongue at the very dissatisfying climax.

"GUYS, LOOK OUT!"

Monkey's panicked shout captured his attention in time to see Tigress jumping away from a huge _boulder_ flying towards them from the exact opposite direction of the river. Po couldn't get out of the way in time and the house-sized piece of ground collided with him face-first. It launched the panda backwards with a pained shout and into the awaiting arms of the flow.

Except for Crane, the Furious Five ran to the bank of the river, ready for action. Tigress took a hold off Monkey's tail as the simian jumped into the water. He had Viper wrapped around his hands, lengthening the living chain they were making. She was holding up her entire body above the water surface, and at the top of her head was Mantis, looking into the water in search for Po.

"Do you see him?" Tigress said, her voice raised to a shout.

The insect's eyes could bore holes into the Yangtze. "Can't, the river must have drifted-" Mantis had no time to finish, as a round, black and white head suddenly emerged with a loud gasp.

"OH MAN! That was amazing Crane! I can still feel the numbness right here!" Po exclaimed, his wet finger pointing at his slightly reddened cheeks.

Mantis did not look amused. Neither did Viper nor Monkey. Tigress, even less so.

"Grasp him."

So Mantis did. The celebratory whooping of the panda stopped when he felt the surprisingly tight hold of the insect. The next thing he knew was tasting the feeling of flying once again, himself shouting the whole way, before hitting the ground face first. Well, at least he was off-fire.

And then-

"Wohooo! Man, this day just gets better and better."

"Not to be rude, Po, but," Mantis began, "You are biting the dust. I know that you are good at anything food, but this is excessive."

"Wha-"

"You also should get up. Unless you want another round in the river," Tigress added with her hands on her hips.

"I'm getting up, I'm getting up, no need for tha-"

"Even like this, he is still the cleanest between us. Maybe we should follow _Master Panda's_ example - skinny dip, anyone?" Monkey added.

Viper giggled, „You look cute like this Po."

"Cute? Like what?"

And then she pointed at his ears, "Like that."

Reaching up, Po felt both his ears, and realized that they were hugging his head, courtesy of the weight of wet fur.

"No! This looks so uncool. _Cute_ is uncool. And in front of you guys too!" he said, grasping his we ears, trying to hide them.

Shifu chuckled. That's it, he just couldn't help it. This is what a real family looked like. Po gushing over possibly the most lethal aspect of life, not caring about the fact that he had literal dirt in his mouth, while the Furious Five tried really hard to feel annoyed at him, but failed _so miserably_ that it was almost embarrassing. One might think the different species, personalities, life goals, views on the world would make this a dysfunctional family, but the red panda didn't care, because _this_ was what their family looked like and it was perfect in every imperfect way.

And Po still thought of them as his idols, even after Tai Lung, Shen and Kai. He still thought about them as some kind of untouchable gods, even after they had been beaten, chained and jaded. None of that changed his perspective of them, not even becoming their Teacher. But to be fair, Tigress still gave out orders, Mantis still had a knack for disrespecting others, Monkey still didn't know the boundaries with pranks and Viper still didn't know when not to be sympathetic.

They have all changed in these recent times. But there were things that didn't, and these things became the essence of their family. Yet…

Something was missing from the picture. Something crucial.

The giant boulder rested on the road, but it wasn't alone. Shaking wings touched its surface slowly, exactly the part that hit Po on the face, and strands of fur and a droplet of red was taken from the rock. Tired yellow eyes looked at the items, and their bearer's face went slack in disbelief. The wing shook, trying to swat the red liquid and the fur off it, before folding back to the body of their owner. _Tightly_ from what Shifu could see, like Crane was actively trying to hide his own wing from himself. If the bird wanted to forget what he had accidentally done, he was doing an awful job; the boulder was right in front of him.

In the words of the Dragon Warrior, 'this needs a Fixer-Upper'

* * *

Night had arrived, the inevitability of it was always a beauty to behold. The Masters had found a quaint little valley with a clearing, courtesy of the union of the Yangtze and a decently sized tributary stream. They were one day away from reaching Lin'an, but it was still a long walk. The woods became sparse for some time now; the trees surrounding the clearing were nothing like a dense wall it once was. The Masters set up a small fire in the middle, trying not to imagine their avian friend amidst the flames, and camped around it.

Topics with no real direction or sense were popular tonight, it seemed.

"So here's my question; what would my first measure be if I became the Emperor?" Mantis asked their group.

"Make learning Kung Fu mandatory in the Empire," Po replied immediately.

"Of course you would."

"But seriously, think about it! If everyone learned Kung Fu, China would be undefeatable and the coolest Empire ever."

The circle contemplated, and slowly started nodding along, getting the idea.

Shifu cleared his throat. "Don't you think if all of China learned Kung Fu, and showed the world how 'cool' it is, other Empires would try adapting to it?"

"It would also lose its uniqueness," Mantis added.

Po didn't back off. "You guys are talking like it's an easy thing to learn. And by the time any other country got Kung Fu, we would probably evolve Kung Fu to another level of _awesomeness_."

Shifu thought about it, and even if he didn't necessary agreed with the logic, it was an optimistic view that the world lacked, so he let it be.

Monkey tapped his chin in thought. "I would probably delete some of those boring rules and traditions."

Tigress raised her eyebrow. "Those traditions are for the respect of the Emperor's importance and his person. You would erase them?"

"I'm not some pompous snob," Monkey shrugged, "Plus, the ceremonies would be shorter and I would have more time to lead the country and stuff."

"Read it as in lazing around and pranking important people, because he can," Mantis cut in, making Monkey throw a small twig at him.

The circle chuckled, before they all looked at Tigress. The feline closed her eyes, a sign that she was thinking.

"My first measure would be finding a way for every abandoned child in China to able to have a purpose in life," she said, opening her unfocused eyes at the end of her sentence.

Somber silence sat on the circle. The kind of somber where people still smiled because they were glad that the reason for the sombreness is nothing but a leaf of the past and a theory in the wind, but they are still somber because the topic applies to someone they know and love, and it makes it relevant to them.

It's complicated.

"I would…" Viper said deep in thought, breaking the silence, "…probably make sure that every corner of China is a beauty."

"Mandatory make-up and flowers-behind-ears, anyone?" Monkey asked, with a wide smile towards the snake.

Viper giggled behind her tail. "That doesn't sound _too_ bad. But no, I was thinking of making the cities beautiful. Painting houses, planting flowers and trees, that kind of deal."

"Crane would probably help. He would die for a chance to paint China," Mantis noted.

"He did once say that China is like a large scroll with a grand picture on it, that lacks color, but has too much shading," Tigress added with a tiny smile of herself.

"Wow, the level of artsy-ness was a bit too much for my head," Po said, scratching his head.

The tiger shrugged. "That's just how he is."

"Speaking of Birdbrain," Mantis noted looking around, "Wasn't he standing next to Viper?"

The Masters turned to the spot, and sure enough, it was empty.

"Where'd he go?" Po wondered.

Shifu raised his staff. "I believe, Master Crane has already begun repainting China's grand picture."

They followed the staff, and saw their last friend by the bank of the river, alone in the dark, a stick in his talon, drawing in the dirt something they couldn't see.

"Oh god, he's sulking. What's up with artists and depression?" Mantis asked, unimpressed.

"He _did_ have a pretty rough day," Po commented, not removing his eyes from his drawing friend.

"Maybe you should talk to him?" Monkey asked, which gained Po's attention.

" _Why me?!_ Last time I talked to him, he literally went up in flames."

"Because you were the one who took up the task of teaching him," Shifu reminded, "And if my memory doesn't fault me, you quite enjoyed today's events."

Po looked like he wanted to deny it, but a smile replaced his pout. "Okay, I won't deny those. But I'm not good with sad feelings and stuff. Why doesn't Viper do it? She's basically a master of depression-beating."

"It is true, Master Viper has an uncanny ability to emphasize with people and find ways to help them get out the holes they have fallen into," Shifu's words made the snake in question smile and blush, "But the thing is, Master Crane has wings, so if he were to fall in a hole, he would just fly out. What he is in, as of now is more like a jungle. He needs someone to listen to him, someone to reassure him, someone to break the dense crown of trees for him to take off."

" _Sooo_ … I should just… ask him how he feels? Is that it?" Po asked, not quite able to grasp the whole meaning.

"It's a start," And with that, Shifu put the fire out with a grand move of his hands.

"Great," Po groaned, "More confusing talk. I think I'll call you Master Oogway the Second from now on, all right?"

His answer was silence. Without the fire, it was too dark to see where anyone was.

"Guys?"

More silence.

Po sighed. "Okay. Guess it's time to be a teacher."

With that, he arose from his place on the ground and made his way over to his bird friend. Luckily, the moon reflected on the Yangtze, and it made Crane's shadowy figure visible. The avian stopped drawing into the dirt for a moment when the panda stepped next to him, but otherwise didn't indicate that he cared about it. Meanwhile Po was trying to figure out a way how to start a conversation. He went with the well-proven solution.

"Hey."

"…Hello," And with that, Crane continued drawing.

Damnit.

"What are you drawing?"

"This and that."

"Oh. And how is it?"

"Could be better."

"That's true."

Po couldn't actually see the drawing, but his friend didn't need to know that.

"And how are you even doing it? Isn't it dark to see anything?"

"I have the picture in my mind, and I follow its lines. Basic technique."

"Wow, you can do that? Imagine something and then copy it into real? That's so-" Po was about to fanboy over the idea, when he remembered why he was here, "…not important right now. And what do you think about this trip all in all?"

Crane shrugged. "It's long."

"Yeah, I can agree with that. Y'know, I'm not much for maps and such, but I think there must be some kind of shorter way between the capital… and… us," Po had to stop because Crane was obviously not listening. He frowned at his failures of getting the bird talking so he could 'listen and reassure'. He hit himself when he realized that he was doing it all wrong; _he_ needs to be the one listening to Crane, not the other way around.

Thankfully, he knew just the technique.

"By the way, the guys are wondering how you're doing," Po said, trying to play it casual. There was a moment of quiet between them, where Po thought he may have messed it all up. Much to his relief, Crane finally stopped drawing and turned to him.

"Well, I… am not good," the bird began, putting down his stick and turning towards Po, "This whole Elemental Chi business makes me jittery I guess."

Po tried hard not to cheer at his success. "Jittery of what?"

"Hurting you. You and everyone."

"Hurting us? Ha! You aren't hurting anyone Crane, what are you talking about?"

"Oh nothing. I'm just, y'know, talking about giving concussions to Viper and Mantis, endangering an entire shop, _your father's_ shop _,_ and then this afternoon, I may have had the fortune of setting the Dragon Warrior on fire before making said warrior kiss a boulder the size of him plus two and hurling him into a baby version of the _Yangtze_."

…

"Wow. That was some speech."

Crane snorted. "Sorry."

"No no, don't apologize," Po tried to amend, "From that perspective, it can look a little… _problematic_ , but trust me when I say that none of us hold it against you, and everyone is fine! I'm fine too, as you can see."

Crane eyed his smiling face. Po suddenly remembered those yellow eyes burning in every sense of the word and had to suppress a shiver. Thankfully, his friend missed it if his softening eyes were any clue.

"Yeah, I guess. Though it doesn't help that I still have no clue how to even remotely control it."

"But what about the boulder? You controlled that. And you were on point too," Po replied, his hand tapping his cheek as an emphasis.

Crane looked at him deadpan. "I wanted to spray you with water from the river."

If confusion were a liquid, Po would be drenched. "But a rock… hit…. me?"

"Exactly."

"And it came from the woods. That's like, the complete other s-."

" _Exactly._ "

Po's mouth made an 'o' shape and nodded in sudden understanding of the bird's point.

"Well, it's no surprise, you are just barely over one third of your training. And props to you too, you have done well on the first layer."

Crane looked at him weirdly. "We have very different views on what 'doing well' is, but- thank you."

Po deflated slightly when his friend took the stick again between his talons. In the end, he listened and empathised and everything, but he still didn't make his friend less dejected. He knew Viper would have been better suited for the job. Why did Shifu even think that-

"I… am anxious for another reason too, actually."

Hell yeah, success on the way.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. I mean, I will tell you, if you care that is," Crane said, not raising his eyes from the drawing he still was yet to continue. The stick in his talon hovered barely above the surface.

"Of course, absolutely. I mean, I wanna hear it, so lay it on me. Full force."

The avian glanced at him, a glimmer of hope twinkling in his eyes. "You sure? I don't wanna bore you. Plus, everyone's asleep, figured you would be tired too."

"Okay, first of all, I'm the Dragon Warrior. I'm supposed to survive on universe juice and stuff, so a little tiredness won't beat me," Po began listing on his fingers, and Crane smiled a little at the reference to Tigress' words, "Second, I'm not even tired, I'm completely vigilant and ready for action at a moment's notice. And third, in order for us to start on the second layer, I would need to know how your mental works. You telling me how you feel is a great way to start. So, what _is_ that other thing?"

"Well, if you insist," Crane let the smile linger there, before sighing heavily and putting down the twig, "I'm… _scared_ of going to Lin'an."

"Aha? Why?"

"I haven't told you anything about my childhood or anything before Lee Da, right?"

Po squinted at his friend. "Before Lee Da… no, not really."

"Okay. So, I'm actually _from_ Lin'an."

The panda's eyes widened in wonder. "Wow. You mean you are from the capital?!"

"Born and raised."

"How is it? Is it as grand as the stories tell? Golden light everywhere you look? Did you see the Imperial Army? Did you step into the Emperor's Palace? or… have you met the Emperor?! Oh please, please, please, tell me you've met him."

Crane chuckled at Po's enthusiasm. "It's big, yes, no, yes, no and no."

"Wait, so which one was yes again? 'cause, I got a little tangled up with the questions there…"

"Wasn't this conversation supposed to be about something else?" Crane asked, his smile stretching into the start of a smirk.

"Oh. Yeah," Po said dumbly, before frowning, "Why are you scared of going there? You are technically going home."

"The Jade Palace _is_ my home," the bird stressed, "And that's why I'm scared. I have people I knew there, such as my mom and dad. A best friend too."

"Oh… You are scared because you think they would want you to stay there. I get it, but I don't think-"

"No! No, no, no. That's not what I mean. I _want_ them to be part of my life again."

Po stood perplexed as he looked at Crane like he was an unsolvable puzzle. "You lost me."

Crane groaned, one of his wing covering his face with a sigh that came with it. "I'm scared because there is a possibility that I will have to choose between them and you guys. And I'm not sure I could make that decision."

Po couldn't really say anything to that for two reasons. One was that even if he very much wanted to say something, he had a feeling this one was one time when speaking would destroy any process he had made, and maybe even anger his friend. He had certainly learned what would happen if he angered his friend, the burnt patch of fur on his arm was evidence enough.

The second reason was the event happening behind Crane. Po's eyes widened when water suddenly rose from the Yangtze in the shape of an eastern dragon, slowly and silently slithering its way from the river and around his friend. From what he heard from Viper about the accident in his dad's shop, water was something like a soothing element for Crane. Which, to be fair, was a relaxing thought for Po, as this probably (hopefully) implied that no one would die tonight.

All that in mind, he simply opted to rock subtly on his heels, with his hands clasped behind him, watching his friend use his appendage to rub his beak while the water dragon hugged his body.

"I love my mom," Crane whispered as the wing slid off his face. His eyes met with Po's. "I love my dad. I love my best friend. _Gosh_ , even after twenty years, I still cannot pour it into words how much I love them. But… I love you guys too. And there is a reason I never got into poetry in the first place, because all I would write about is how much I _love_ the people in my life. But then I wouldn't write anything, because there are no words to describe it.

And, what with this curse of a chi that found a home in _me_ out of all people, I'm not sure I wouldn't just blow up if somebody told me I had to choose. And I _know_ I must make a choice, because they belong to Lin'an, and you belong to the Jade Palace and I-"

"Belong to both," Po finished his friend's sentence. Crane held his head lower as he sighed.

"And then, while we are on the topic of blowing up, who's saying something else won't happen, huh? Like, think about it; we are going to the capital, to be among millions of people. What if I have another episode and destroy a part of the city? I couldn't live with myself knowing that I took away the lives of so many people. Especially if one of _my_ precious people are among them too…"

The sound of the Yangtze flowing was the only thing filling in the silence after that. Crane whipped his head away from the river, his haunting reflection disappearing. This action made it possible for him to find the little ring of water around him. His eyes copied Po's initial reaction upon seeing its draconic shape. When the dragon's head arrived in front of him, he raised a nervous wing to touch it. Much to both his and the standby panda's surprise, the dragon stopped and gazed up at him with those blank, watery eyes.

Crane gulped. "Heheh… where were you when I needed you today, huh?"

The dragon didn't answer. Didn't even move for that matter.

"You… hear the song?" Po asked out of the blue, fidgeting with his fingers. Crane looked up at him and nodded.

"Yeah. I-It isn't that bad, actually."

"Does it change with each element?"

"It… doesn't. Always the same womanly voice singing. Similar to my mother's voice," Crane's eyes softened, as his voice took on a nostalgic tone, "She would always sing to me before sleep. Her voice chased away the bad dreams, _I was sure of it_. She was the one who encouraged my artistic hobbies actually…"

"Well, she must be pretty awesome," Po said, trying not to sound wistful. After all, he did not get the chance to experience what it was like to grow up with a mom.

"Yeah. She will love you, you know."

"Eh?"

"I will eat my hat if she won't try to strangle you with love," Crane said, snorting goodheartedly and meeting Po's eyes. The water dragon he had been eyeing the whole time continued its journey around him.

"Wow, your hat? That's… wow," the panda said, smiling a little awkwardly at the supposed love from Crane mom that he would get.

"She was always on the opinion that everyone needs to be safe and well fed. Once she discovers that you are safe _if_ you are well-fed…" Crane said, momentarily looking down at Po's large white belly, "She will have a _delirium._ "

"Deli-what?"

Crane laughed, restrained. "Figure of speech Po. Figure of speech…"

"Ah, right," Po said, nodding yet not understanding. He always had problems getting some of his friend's fancier words.

"Oh and Po," Crane spoke up, making eye contact, "To answer the question Mantis asked at the fire…"

The half-sentence captured Po's attention completely, and he craned his neck in anticipation. Crane's eyes shone a bit, although it was dimmer than usual, and the water dragon disappeared into a puddle under the bird's feet.

"…I would do all that you guys said, and then some."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Story Miscellaneous  
> #10:In Chapter 4, I gave a little world building to you, gracious readers. Kung Fu Panda takes place in obviously China, but in an alternate universe. For the sake of giving the world an itsy-bitsy reality factor, The Author analyzed the canonical knowledge of some of the places in the movie, and theorized where in China was what.  
> #11:At this Chapter did the author start worrying about Crane being too much of a Passive protagonist, and started having thoughts of 'Activizing' him.  
> #12:The city of Lin'an is an actual real life city; 'Lin'an' was the name of today's Hangzhou at the time of the Song Dynasty (960-1279), and it was the capital city of the Empire between 1138 and 1276.  
> #12A:The Honghe Dynasty is not a representation of the Song Dynasty. The Zhao Dynasty is not a representation of the Yuan Dynasty.
> 
> Chapter 4 Miscellaneous  
> #1:The 'harpoon move' in this chapter is basically what Crane did at the beginning of Kung Fu Panda 1, at the scene where Shifu was playing on the flute.  
> #2:The Author thought about calling this chapter 'expositional miracle', because it both contained narrative and dialogue exposition, that yours truly tried to make as subtle and as natural as possible.  
> #3:At this chapter did The Author get anxious about how likeable he made Crane.  
> #3A:Working at chapter-per-week advances the story slower to me, thus I tend to get involved with one chapter instead of all the previous ones, and sometimes a chapter doesn't contain much character building.


	5. Flamboyance Is Underrated

A gasp broke the tentative silence as the Masters took a turn on the road, finally allowing them to leave the western hills and reach an ever-ending plain. Great mountains towered over the area from the north, the Yangtze, already in its full power, ran its course on the south and the East China Sea greeted the Masters in the horizon on the, well, _east_.

What was in the middle you ask? Well, none other than Lin'an herself.

"This is…" Viper said, breathlessly.

"Ginormous?" Monkey supplied, his broad eyes never leaving the massive spectacle.

"I've never been to the capital…" the snake said, her face shining with spellbound wonder.

While his friends ambled forward on the road to their final destination, Crane pushed up his rice hat, letting him gaze freely with nothing posing an obstacle. The sight of the place where he grew up stood before him, greeting him with its awe-inspiring aura. His golden eyes roamed over every building, plant, people, his mind slowly recognizing every single aspect, putting names and connecting hazy, clouded memories to them. His chest swelled in the amount of nostalgia this mere picture bombarded him with.

A lone, old goat was watering his flowers behind a quaint cottage at the very corner of Lin'an, and Crane recognized him as the man, who had been selling fresh fruit at the market back in the day. The avian had chatted with him once at length, when he was still nothing but a curious colt, and he remembered the goat claiming to want his own house in the suburbs, where he could live in peace while 'his horns dried up and his hooves cracked all over'.

"Guess he got his wish," Crane whispered, his soft eyes following the small figure in the distance.

They passed a bulky green apple tree on the way, one that the avian knew the people dubbed as the 'Guardian of Lin'an', thanks to its natural position next to the road and right before the official border of the city. Crane mused, the tree definitely looked thicker than twenty years ago, its crown was also bigger and more widespread. He remembered his best friend and him occasionally flying over to this very tree, playing tag, hide-and-seek, or whatever they desired, while his mom and dad watched over them, sometimes even joining in the fun. His mind helpfully supplied him a picture of his best friend standing tall and proud, gesturing to a part of the tree, where a spot on the bark had the following line carved in:

_Property of Bao and Jia. Keep out!_

"And we had a squabble about why your name was first…" Crane said, his bittersweet smile stretching, his heart restless. He glanced over to his friends, making sure that they wouldn't notice him diverging for a bit. Seeing that they were unaware of his intentions, he followed his heart's wish. He deviated off the road and walked into the cool shadow of the tree, and after circling said tree, he found the spot he had been hoping to find. Sleek wings reached out and stroked the crusty, hard surface, the caramel letters greeting him amidst the chocolate of the bark.

" _Did you… use your beak to carve this in?"_

" _Of course not! Do you think I'm an idiot?"_

" _Yes. A certified degenerate."_

" _You little!"_

"We wrestled after and mom had to separate us. Gosh..." Crane whispered, his wing sliding down until it hung powerless next to him.

"Crane, you coming?" Po's voice called out, and the avian's head snapped up so fast, the hat skewed on him.

"Eeerm, yeah!" he shouted back, fixing his rice hat hurriedly.

As they stepped into the suburbs, his eye caught a glint from the sky. Looking up to see where it had come from, he chuckled under his breath. Turns out, the glint was the sun's reflection on the circular window of a tower, built somewhere in the city's heart.

Oh, that tower was his favorite. For the masses, it was nothing but the highest point of Lin'an, the golden beacon of the Emperor's Palace. To him and his family, it had been a fond little scene; they would camp out on a mountain's side, north to the city, and that tower would always play some kind of role there. A joke or a comment about their camping site being at the exact height as that tower, or how funny it would be if the Emperor himself lived there, and they could peek in through one of the four circular windows, getting some juicy secrets unbeknownst to His Majesty. His best friend and him almost attempted it once until his mother herself ordered them to stand down.

They had gotten the scolding of their lives, but after that, his mom did admit she would have done the same at his age.

"Everything, as it was…" he murmured, his face brightening tenfold. His eyes shined up for a single second, and the dull plant life of the suburbs greened, flourished in a wave; like they gained a new life.

The municipality of Lin'an was already an imposing piece of architecture from a distance, but up close, things gained magnitude. The city was, as Monkey put it, _ginormous_ ; it spread all over the northern bank of the Yangtze delta, buildings upon buildings from small cottages to luxurious and grand interconnected compounds stretching the city's limits for miles. The highlight of the capital was of course the Emperor's Palace, situated right at the center of everything, a legendary architectural feat. Foreign leaders came to this very place, and no matter the nature of the meeting, they would always carry a hint of envy in their hearts as they left, the building's golden color scheme, marble floor, pillars, and statues intimidating and awing anyone, who stepped inside.

The suburb region was the first part of the shining city that the Masters reached. Wooden compounds and cottages stood orderly on both sides of the streets, with the compounds built in the traditional sanheyuan formation. Smaller, yet important avenues and byways branched from the main road, allowing more houses to exist and the city to reach the mountains and the river. As they went deeper into the city following Master Shifu, the one who knew where they were told to go, people of all professions hustled and bustled over them.

The main street was almost always busy, today especially; a group of muscled oxen passed the Masters, a large plank balanced on their shoulders as they carried it to a nearby construction site. An antelope family of hat makers made a stand at the side, the mother and the children sewing and weaving while the father controlled the sales themselves. A group of kids of many species distracted the Masters' marveling attention for a moment with their appearance and ran a circle around them in a loop, laughing boisterously. Po and Viper laughed with them, Mantis, Monkey and Crane just smiled, the former two handing out high-fives and encouraging words. Tigress ignored all of them, her chin held high as she followed Shifu. Her obvious facade broke when a little tiger girl, almost alike to Tigress, fell over her own tail.

"Owwie," the little tigress said, cradling her lithe elbow. Mantis tensed his legs to jump in and help, but a picture of Birdbrain's pathetically lying body flashed in his mind, the one he was the perpetrator of. Closing his eyes, he stepped back with his mouth in a thin line, his forelegs crossed in front.

The Masters and the child's group of friends simultaneously stopped and observed as the adult tiger knelt down, and with surprising softness, took hold of the kid's elbow. The little tigress watched her with curious and a little wet eyes, as her appendage was looked over.

When Tigress finished, she smiled and let go.

"Not even a scar," she said, standing up and clasping her paws behind her back, "Be careful next time, all right?"

The little tiger just nodded and smiled, before running back to her group of friends. Said children loudly exclaimed their gratefulness, before continuing their trek on the streets of suburban Lin'an. Tigress could feel the stares on her back and Shifu's own on her face.

"Well," Mantis spoke up, his twinkling eyes squinted and a smirk on his lips, "Somebody is good with kids."

"One more word from any of you, and I will personally make your lives hell," An effective way of shutting everyone up. She knew that they were exchanging knowing looks behind her back, but she let them be. Those were the most she allowed.

They continued their way towards the heart of the city. While the kids had occupied them, a chariot rolled ahead, dragged by four, rough-looking rhinos. The chariot itself was wildly decorated, with shields, chains and weapons of all sorts embellishing its metallic frame. It was also basically a tent on wheels, with an unidentified flag swinging on a metal pole, perched on the top of the tent.

"That looks important," Po remarked, his friends nodding along.

"They are probably going to the palace," Tigress said, her eyes narrowed at all the weaponry.

"Just like us…" Crane added, a lump forming in his throat.

Their journey to the heart took about half an hour; the old dynasties built Lin'an in a way that the main commercial road went right into downtown and only ended before the walls of the Emperor's Palace. It was an almost straight path between the border and the palace, the only detour it did was at the local market, but that was understandable considering that it is a _commercial_ road. As they neared the downtown area, the surrounding buildings started changing; they gained storeys, space, wall height and family fineries. The Masters noted some compounds were so heavily decorated with family and/or clan symbols; they blinded the eyes with their thematic extravagance.

When they passed a clan property, which had its walls painted _orange_ and _blue_ , Viper and Crane had to keep their mouths shut, so as not to barf in the middle of the street.

"This must be a very elaborate prank, it _cannot_ be real," Crane said with his tense face twisted in disgust, while his eyes tried to blink away the picture of that monstrosity.

"I'm no longer hungry…" Viper said, whimpering as she felt her stomach convulse.

The rest ignored them, though Monkey did send a glance at Shifu, his head motioning towards the two. The red panda just sighed and rolled his eyes.

They built the Emperor's Palace in a way, that it emphasized its importance to Lin'an, what with it being in the middle of the city. The property of the Palace extended in all directions thrice as far as the actual building width. The property also had a continuous fiery red wall around itself, with the main road ending in the wall's only gate, which now stood before the Masters with its golden coloration, greatly armored guards and statues depicting dragons crawling up the side.

What filled that area between the walls and the Palace you ask?

Well, nothing.

Absolutely nothing.

Smooth marble ground surrounded the building from all sides, but nothing else. From a bird's-eye view, this part of downtown would look like compounds upon compounds with streets and people in between them, while there was this rectangular spot in the middle with the palace and its surrounding white, but blank space.

"This looks like… _wasting,_ " Monkey said, frowning. He was leaning to the side so he could look through the gate while the guards let the chariot inside.

"Birdbrain?" Mantis asked, unable to look at said avian while he copied his best friend's activity.

"Huh?" Crane asked caught off-guard, clear by his rapid blinking. For the last few moments, he had been under the spell of amazement, his focused eyes roaming the draconic shapes on the gate.

"Have any idea why all the wasted space?"

"Oh," the avian said dumbly, before he too craned his head above Monkey's, catching sight of the blank courtyard, "I'm guessing it's for the sake of symbolism."

"Symbolism?" Monkey asked. his face scrunching up and his eyes squinting, Mantis doing the same.

"Yeah. Its secluded nature may symbolize that it is not part of the rest of the buildings, that it ascended and couldn't be thought on the same plain as the rest of the city," Crane said, retracting his neck as the guards closed the door after the chariot. He took a breath after his explanation and waited for a response. When it did not come, he looked back to his right, and saw both his friends still leant sideways, but now staring at him with tilted heads, and so many unspoken questions.

"What?" Crane asked, his feathers puffing up.

The two Masters held his gaze, before turning away and shaking their heads. Crane couldn't decide whether it was fond or mocking, but he refrained from asking. He did not know whether he would like the answer.

What happened next is… hard to explain.

They had been waiting in front of the gate to the palace yard, around them luxurious, grandeur buildings and the streets standing tall, the most influential families lived there. All the buildings had this creamy sheen to them at all times, and the people leaving and entering the compounds wore expensive silk, sometimes even heavy armor. The latter was obviously the heads of the families, minding their own important business, especially after the attack on their home. The eye-piercing part of their surroundings was this random compound right next to them, with its walls barely standing, the main building and its side buildings grey and overgrown with the plant-life, at some places they looked straight up rotten and corroded. The courtyard was a complete jungle, and Po would stubborn claim that he had seen something move among the lush grass.

At this moment, one side building of the compound straight up _blew up_.

The Masters jumped back from the exploding debris and flames, shaking off the sonorous sound, and readied themselves for a fight. Crane instinctually took up his starting stance too, his fastened movements sending a burst of wind towards the flames and particles that were about to hit the Masters, blowing them away.

" _Wohooooooooooooooooooyeeeeeeeeeeeeeeah!_ "

The shout came from above the burning building, and a figure flew out of the growing smoke. It was an avian creature, and the Masters followed how the figure stopped their gliding, and rapidly descended towards them. Their bodies tensed, ready to fight, but then the bird did a backflip and touched the ground. Spinning on its long and thin leg and facing them again, the figure bowed deeply.

"Tadaaa."

To enhance the ridiculousness of the situation, a well-dressed crocodile also appeared out of thin air with a tanggu strapped to her front, a kind of drum which she oh-so enthusiastically started hitting to an unknown rhythm, one Po would call 'action rhythm' if he weren't so flabbergasted (or was that awed?) of the situation. Unfortunately for the croc, a flying piece of plank collided with her long head, knocking her out mid-drum hit. The big animal fell over, crushing the tanggu under her weight and the newcomer avian visibly cringed.

"Damnit," the unknown bird said in a hiss, straightening out. A pair of sharp light-blue eyes gazed out from under the hood of the blond, silken tunic, meeting Crane's own yellow ones, and the Master's heart missed a beat.

_Those eyes…_

The newcomer's gaze swept over their group, and raised both his wings, the top feather visibly sticking out while the feathers under were more bent, like if he were trying to hold up both index fingers.

"Contempt, that's it, _contempt_! The right emotion I deserve after _such_ a failure of an entrance," the unknown said, the voice dramatic, playful, and male with a hint of flossy and honey-covered vibrato, "And speaking of entrances, could you guys, like, forget this last minute while I try it again?"

While he talked, half of the Masters were busy watching the burning compound behind the bird, the other was busy following the unknown's animated movements that were surprisingly not fake. It's like every word of his had a movement assigned.

"No?" he said, looking between the faces, unfazed by the shellshocked silence his question received as a response, "Oh well, guess now I have to live with this embarrassment for the rest of my life. Which is fine! Just, y'know..."

Tigress was the first to shake off the stupor the spectacle gave. Her muscles tensed further, still amidst the stance of one of the most deadly and efficient tiger stances, and her eyes narrowed into dangerous slits, zeroing on the newcomer.

"Who are you?" she said, a snarl entangling her words.

The unknown turned to her and, holding her powerful gaze without so much as a flinch, slowly dusted off some debris from his narrow shoulder.

"I would be His Majesty the Emperor's right-hand man, but call me Bao," he said, his words steely and sharp. Tigress was ready to answer this verbal challenge, but then the unknown, or 'Bao' as he called himself, suddenly relaxed his posture, and with his wings spread out wide and inviting, he joyously exclaimed, "I will be your tour guide on a very exciting journey in the Palace. Fair warning though, we might accidentally fall into a tea party on the way, so look out!"

Tigress' head reared back in the sudden explosion of _not_ the expected reaction. She blinked at the exhilarated Bao.

"Bao…" Crane whispered, letting his wings drop from his stance.

"Hmmm?" Bao said, turning to him with a beaming smile, "Yes, that would be my name. Tastes fine on the tongue, I hope?"

"O-oh, well... I was just wondering. Had a friend here with the same name, back in the day," Crane said, rearranging his limbs and ending up as the second one to break his fighting stance. Shifu had quit ever since the young bird introduced himself as the Emperor's trustee. The yellow tunic with the red belt also sealed the deal, especially with the Emperor's insignia showing at the place of the bird's heart.

"And you were wondering whether or not I knew him?" Bao asked, his voice turning mischievous, his eyes half-lid.

"Yeah," Crane said, scratching his chest with his taloned feet.

"Hmm…" Bao began, his head bobbing side-to-side, while his eyes looked up, "Lin'an _is_ vast, and it would happen that I am acquainted with several other Baos. We actually have weekly poetry night, it's pretty chill if I can say without sounding humble. Maybe a little more detail and I could point you the right way?"

"Um, right? He… had blue eyes, I think a lighter shade. His full name was also Bao Luo, and he was a white-naped crane."

All playfulness drained from Bao's black feathered face. His body tensed and his blue eyes narrowed, suspicious instead of challenging. The Masters watched the Emperor's trustee raise his wings, said appendages stopping once, likely asking himself if he were sure about it. It seemed the answer was _yes_ ; the wings resumed their path toward the bird's head and slid under the yellow hood. He raised the fabric and dropped it behind his person. With the hoodie gone, Bao's narrow face and long neck was exposed to the world to see. Patches of red plumage surrounded his eyes, the one on his right eye disturbed by a still currently healing scar. Black line of feathers crawled down on his neck from the patches, greying on the way and disappearing under the tunic's collar.

The most important thing was Bao's nape.

It was pure white.

"It may seem that I can spare my frail muscles from pointing at a simple direction, because you have already found your Bao."

Crane took a step back, his eyes flashing for a fragment of a second. The resulting wind moved the edges of every cloth, dying out as quickly as it came. The Masters shared a glance, their lips pursed, hoping Bao didn't notice the phenomenon. Unfortunately he did, evident by the way those light-blue depths darted to Tigress' shaking outfit, and his pupils tightened. But as quickly as the wind had come and gone, this change in demeanor disappeared, replaced by that blinding smile.

"B-Bao?" Crane said, tipping his hat up while he stepped forward, his friends making him way. Bao didn't react to this sudden decrease of distance between the two avians, though his smile may have turned into a smirk for a flash.

"True, 's still my name. You gotta excuse me though, while you clearly know me, I have not an idea who you would be - besides the obvious Master Crane schtick," Bao said, also striding forward, so now the two avians stood in front of one another.

Crane was slightly taller than Bao, his beak also a bit longer. Their plumage also differed on multiple body parts, but none of these differences mattered now, only the biggest. Though it was nothing of the usual; while Bao's eyes shone with the sky's soft illumination at a sunrise, Crane's vigorous honey-shaded depths swirled in a wide range of negative emotions, trying to hold off hope. The hope that, upon realizing itself, would ascend the avian Master's eyes into the sun, the one that lit up Bao's endless sky.

"I can…" Crane said, his voice ragged and forced, and he had to gulp to continue, " _I can be at a d-distance, I can be at the shore, with you in my mind, I won't be alone nevermore."_

While the fact that Crane _sang took aback his ex-students_ , Master Shifu closed his eyes, enjoying the shy melody of a voice that has almost never been trained or used. He may have also enjoyed how the Emperor's trustee lost all his confident aura, his beak opening up, trying to find his voice. Shifu could see the world disappearing in Bao's eyes, as the tunes and the lyrics took away his undivided attention.

" _The moon is a partner, the sun is a friend, but neither is enough, our love cannot bend. And when moon leaves on a brough, and sun drowns in tea a, pair of friends will stand together-"_

"Just Bao, and Jia…" Bao murmured, his wide eyes losing focus. His head angled itself down, right until it found a spot on the ground to latch onto.

"You know…" Bao said, his voice low and slow. With a single blink, the focus returned to his eyes, "I actually woke up today with the thought; the universe can't surprise me, nope, no way. Guess I was my own doomsayer, huh?"

Bao took a step even closer to Crane, almost invading his personal space, and began looking Crane up and down.

"Little Jia, the artsy pants is back in home, ready to take over with brushes and scrolls," the smaller of the cranes said, his voice painted with laughter, "At the topic of pants though, I just have to say - this shade of blue and that purple sash are a genius fashion idea. And the rice hat, my god, how do you even figure something like that? Just simply mind-blowing."

Crane blinked at the sudden change of air, and he looked down on himself. When he realized that he was still in his Kung Fu gear, which meant half-naked, he awkwardly crossed his wings before his chest, trying to hide his feathers.

"I j-just thought they looked nice..."

Bao's posture dropped, while his gaze snapped up to Crane's face. He seemed to ignore Crane's plain prudish behavior in favor of _looking absolutely scandalized._

"'I just thought they looked nice' he says, while he _revolutionizes_ China's fashion for a decade. What the hell Jia?!" Bao raised his voice. Crane was ready to defend himself, but before he could open his beak, the smaller bird simply snatched his hat with a swift swipe.

On the sidelines, the Masters tensed, ready for a bloodbath. The last time someone took that piece of fabric away, they got put down into the ground. The fact that the compound was still on fire and _it was spreading_ , while they could taste the fresh aroma of Elemental Chi lurking in the air did not help anyone's rabidly destabilizing calmness.

"Damnit, now I want a hat like this too. I would also need a better get up, because while I do look marvelous in this robe, no question's asked, my normal clothes are - _OKAY_ , we are hugging," while he was rambling, Crane suddenly couldn't take it anymore, and engulfed Bao in a powerful embrace, further astonishing the Masters, Monkey and Mantis staring at the scene with open mouths. The white-naped bird bit his lip, his wings shaking in indecision, before giving into his own desires. Gripping the Master back, he rested his head on the feathered and apparently decently muscled shoulder and closed his eyes, savoring the moment.

The surroundings disappeared for the pair of avians, while they let the moment finally manifest itself in their minds. China could have melted from the face of the earth, these two wouldn't have cared.

"I missed you, Little Jia," Bao whispered, his eyes closed as the soft scent of his long-time best friend pervaded his senses.

"I missed you too, Ballistic Bao…"

"Oh, not that stupid name," the Emperor's trustee bit down a groan.

"Shut it, you know you love it."

" _When I was small_ ," he huffed, before going back to enjoying the sensation of security he never realized he missed so frickin' much. The giggling Crane patted Bao's back, enjoying the way his best friend's body shook with his own chuckles.

Suddenly, Bao ripped his body away and raised his wings.

"You know what this is? Mushy. It's sap. I am fighting a bile rising in my throat at the moment," he said, gesturing to his long neck.

Crane squinted. "Are you... trying to use dry humor?"

"I call it Jia humor. I have been rigorously practicing, day by day, and - does it work?" Bao asked, whispering the last part.

Crane's shoulders and eyelids dropped, his voice monotone, almost bored. "You sound like a vendor trying to sell paper lamps for the price of pottery."

"I mean," Bao began, scratching his neck with his taloned feet, "if they are _really_ nice lamps…"

"They are _paper_ lamps."

"Oh. But what if they are absrect?" Bao asked, his eyes twinkling.

One of Crane's eyelids rose. "You mean abstract."

"That's what I said."

"No, you did n-" Crane was about to heavily disagree, before he saw the white-naped crane's beak stretching into a smirk, " _Ugh_ , whatever."

Bao's wings raised once again, his posture shaking in his trials to suffocate his laughs. "Disappointment, exactly! That's the perfect-"

He couldn't finish his sentence as like lightning, Crane's wings shot out, and sandwiched his beak, keeping it together and not allowing Bao to utter a word.

"Shut it."

Bao just smiled, immensely satisfied, and now he was the one who started the hug. This one had less of that aura of intimacy, and more 'come'ere you little rascal!' in it.

Both birds laughed, breathless, _free_.

The sidelined Masters shared a dumb glance and several clueless shrugs. The spectacle may have been rather unusual, but seeing Crane honestly smile and laugh, it made the edges of their lips to curl and their hearts swell.

"Ah yeah, these guys are here too," Bao said, disconnecting the hug. He waved, "Hi! Sorry for the holdup, it's a… best friend kinda deal."

Crane turned on his heels fast, his body freezing up upon seeing his idle friends, standing where they had been for the last few minutes. Did he seriously forget they were there?

"Oh, we did not mean to impose. You can continue your heartfelt reunion in peace," Shifu said, his raspy voice colored by humor.

Crane massaged his exposed head, his wings itching for his hat so he could tip it. Bao simply snorted at the elderly red panda's tone, uncaring. "Well, my boss wouldn't find it heartfelt _or_ amusing, so we gotta move."

Tigress bristled unknown to all, and Bao easily threw the rice hat back onto the head of its owner, before beginning the walk towards the gate. Crane huffed after rearranging his favorite piece of clothing in a way that didn't make him look lousy, and was about to follow him, when Mantis spoke up.

"Is nobody going to comment on the burning building?"

Both avians stopped mid-step and turned back to the compound, its right side building cracking on amber fire. What the Masters didn't understand is why nobody, besides them, cared that a fire was this close to them, or that there was a fire at all. Nobles and the such only spared a glance, some smiled, some scoffed, but nonetheless continued on their business.

"Ah, yeah, that could be a problem. But fret not, I've got a solution," Bao said, before hooking his leg under a piece of brick, and launching it towards the still knocked out crocodile's head with an easy swing. The piece hit its mark dead-on and the crocodile lady woke up with a start, snapping his head around, her wary eyes jumping all over the place.

"Wake up, you big oaf! Didn't we agree on something?"

Bao's voice gathered the crocodile's attention. The white-naped crane motioned with his wing, pointing it behind her. Upon turning and realizing the severity of a problem, she scrambled up from the ground, sprinted behind some thick bushes on the street corner, came out with sheep-sized buckets, and began dumping their contents on the flames.

"That's it. Next time I tell you that I wanna make a grand entrance to important people, try not to fall asleep!" Bao shouted, shaking his head, "I swear, she does that every time. It's like she could sleep over an explosion."

Po was looking at the diligent alligator, slowly killing the licks of flames. "Didn't she?"

His question made Bao blink. "...Oh yeah. That's true. Whatever, it's time for the anticipated _tour_!"

Taking on the lead, the Masters sent a last glance at the busted compound, before following the Emperor's trustee in his journey to the guarded gate. Crane walked up to Bao, falling in line with him. The Masters noted the closeness between the avians, and the way the smaller bird sent a curious look to his side, to which the bigger bird replied with a raised eyebrow, daring the fellow to question his actions. Bao smiled and stuck his tongue out, to which Crane looked up, exasperated, but smiled nonetheless while nudging his long-lost best friend.

"Jerk," Bao whispered.

"Child," Crane countered, to which both chuckled.

* * *

"And that is the Council room. That's where all the boring politics go on between the lords, the civil government, His Majesty the Emperor, and the Eunuchs," Bao said, shuddering, "Grumpy bunch."

"Eunuchs? Who?" Po asked, looking into the spacious room of the palace, marveling at the number of fancy seats.

"Men who felt like their worthless opinions were not annoying enough for the common ear, so they decided to lose a very important part of their body in order to promote their words from worthless to annoying and useless. And _no_ , I'm not going into details there, just believe me when I say that the price for becoming an Eunuch would be your future kids and your dignity."

Viper and Tigress looked between his friends, wondering why they were crossing their legs.

"So yeah, boring stuff is there, the room is fancy, yada yada," Bao said in a bored voice, while motioning to the inside of the room.

Tigress was actively clenching her fists.

"Is this where we'll be meeting His Majesty?" Shifu asked, using his staff to regain the attention of their group.

Bao tilted his head. "This? Why would we be? Didn't I say that we are going to have a tea with His Majesty the Emperor?"

Shifu's eyebrows rose. "I thought that was just an expression."

Bao continued blinking at the red panda, before letting out an incredulous laugh, his chest shaking as the air escaped him.

" _No_ , no no, seriously, we will have a tea party with my boss. It's there, at the Emperor's tea room, behind the blue door," Bao said amidst his laughter, pointing to the end of the hall they were in.

The hall itself had a high ceiling, the walls covered with a layer of red silk. Occasionally, scrolls disrupted the continuous crimson, with pictures of former Emperors and famous life-bettering-quotes from Confucius himself. The ceiling had yet another dragon, this one made from pure gold, crawling all over the length of the hall. The Masters followed Bao's wing, and a dark-blue double-door with a golden frame greeted them. Just as he said it, two massive rhino guards in heavy armors and Tigress-sized maces took positions at the two sides of the door, guarding it with stony dark looks.

"Wow, we honestly thought you are joking," Mantis mumbled, when Bao grasped the metallic latches of the Council Room's own double doors.

"Yeah, well-" the white-naped crane began, the doors closing with a _thud_ , sighing after he made sure the door wouldn't open, "Back in the day, I would have made it sounds more 'joke-y', but now I got responsibilities and other stuff. I miss when I could prank around, burn and blow stuff freely and just not care about what happened in the world."

He looked back, finding Crane's yellow depths, and smirked.

"With my Jia of course."

Crane groaned, already covering tipping his hat, as Mantis and Monkey looked between the two birds.

"H-hold up! You mean Birdbrain was _pranking_? Like the 'getting people covered in paint' kinda pranking?" Monkey asked with wide, urgent eyes, his voice coated in a layer of pure disbelief.

"Burning and blowing up…?" Viper whispered next to them with her body tightening into a curl.

Bao's smirk widened and Crane honestly wanted to cry. The Emperor's trustee stepped forward, making his way down the hall, and the Masters reluctantly followed him.

"Let me kill two birds with one stone then with an example, one I hope Jia still remembers."

Crane squinted at him, before his face jumped in alert. "You are not going to tell them that!"

"Oh boy, but I will. Gotta give the audience what they want, now don't we?" And he wasn't wrong, even Tigress looked intrigued about the most peaceful member of theirs being involved in pranks out of all things.

Crane went back to watching the carpeted floor under his rice hat and trailed the group instead of walking beside them. Or at least that would have been the plan, but Bao was a child, a clingy one, and he snatched the Master by the waist, ignoring the yelp of startlement. Crane found himself planted next to his best friend, forced to follow the white-naped crane's tempo.

The Master of the Fujian White Crane Technique took a hold on the two sides of his strawhat, pulled them onto his head, _and surrendered_ _to madness_.

"Story time! So, there was this grumpy old antelope, part of the civil government, filthy rich, filthy in general. I once happened to cross paths with the guy, and he didn't like how I looked or I dunno, but he started saying nasty things at my face and pushing me around. Once again, nothing happened before, he just attacked."

"What did you do?" surprisingly, Shifu was the one asking, his eyes hard.

Bao liked _this_ old man.

"Well…" the Emperor's trustee drawled, looking at his best friend who utterly gave up on this situation, and he snickered, "I went up to Jia and told him what happened and how much I want to blow up the old man's house and incinerate everything that was dear to him. Sorry, I'm kind of a sucker for watching things burn."

His ears caught several gulps and wasn't that a satisfying thing to hear.

"What did Crane do?" Mantis asked, his antennas twitching.

"Well-"

"I told him it was a bad idea and that he should leave it. Then he left it and we lived happily ever after. The End," Crane said, his words quick and almost unintelligible.

Bao's face dipped, his eyes twinkling in mischief. "Is that so? I remember some _extra parts_ before the 'happily ever after'. Such when you got two bags of black henbane, found the dude's house, sneaked in alone, and put it in his tea."

Mantis's boisterous, deep laugh echoed in the hall. Monkey frowned on the other hand, big mental gymnastics ongoing. "What does henbane do?" the simian asked.

"Let me answer that…" Mantis said, barely able to catch his breath, "Black henbane is a herb, capable of making _anyone_ communicate with spirits. Taken in raw though, it causes vivid hallucinations of sparks and _flames_."

Monkey's frozen face turned to Crane, who just shrugged.

"I just thought the guy deserved to see his things burn down, but just to _see_ , nothing else."

"Old man was tripping balls _so bad_ , he was screaming and drenching _his own house_! BEST PRANK EVER!" Bao shouted as his wings tightly hooked around the embarrassed Crane, giving him an enthusiastic half hug. His laughter joined in on Monkey's and Mantis' mirth. Viper openly giggled, no matter how much she tried to resist it, while Shifu concealed his own chuckles with coughs. Tigress massaged her jaw, looking indifferent as ever, but in reality she just tried to cover her smile.

"Oh man, nice one Crane," Mantis said, jumping onto the bird's shoulder and slapping it.

"T-thank you," Crane replied, and he for once really hoped that the warmth of under his skin was the Elemental Chi working.

"And that was only an example, me and Jia did _so many pranks_ back in the day! Jia was the mastermind, I was the action. 't was well balanced system if you ask me. No Jia, I go to jail for burning down something actually important. No me, well, no prank," Bao continued as they arrived in front of the dark-blue door, the guards stepping out of the way with a huff.

"Someone had to look out for you. It's not my fault you were a certified idiot who regularly got himself almost killed," Crane said, his skin no longer feeling hot.

"Just almost! And you know it well, you _were_ the one who articulated my favorite life motto."

"What motto?" Monkey asked, anticipating the answer.

" _Too stupid to live, but too dumb to die_ ," Crane said, emphasizing every word. Bao opened his wings and bowed, immensely proud smile gracing his beak.

"Bao Luo, certified idiot, careful pyromaniac, doesn't know how to die. That's me." he said, to which Crane rolled his eyes and raised Bao's head by the beak, straightening him out. His wing lingered there for one moment too long, and the cranes exchanged a pair of nods and smiles.

"All righty! Please, Masters of the Jade Palace, take a seat inside. His Majesty the Emperor will soon be joining you," Bao piped up, motioning towards the now open double-doors. The Masters moved together and piled into the wide room one after the other. Except for Crane, who was stopped by Bao's wing.

"Huh?"

"Ah-ah, pretty boy. You can't get in without pretty clothes," Bao said, smirking at the cluelessness of his friend.

"P-pretty clothes?"

"Yeah. Can't meet my boss half-naked now, can you?" Crane hated how much Bao was obviously enjoying his confusion.

"B-but, Po and Monkey-!"

"Master Crane, are you going against the Emperor's words? That's _presumptuous!_ "

Crane frowned, his mind feeling numb from the amount of missing information. "The Emperor's words? Did His Majesty the Emperor explicitly say that 'Master Crane cannot go there without a robe'? _Seriously_?"

Bao smirk widened, a feat Crane didn't think was possible.

"Oh, darling Jia, if you thought I was today's big twist, then let me tell you…" he said with a voice sweet as a hornet invested beehive. He took a firm hold on the Master's wing and dragged him away from the door, right back into the halls, " _I was just the appetizer._ "

Not understanding either the situation or the context, Crane let himself be dragged away, the double-doors closing behind him.

* * *

"So… none of us are going to question where the lovebirds are?" Mantis asked from atop of the table.

The 'Emperor's tea room' as Bao called it had an easy, relaxing atmosphere to it. The room was very wide, but exceedingly short when you looked at it from the frame of the double-doors. The opposite side had shining windows, reaching until the room's high ceiling. In the middle of the room were two long tables, both situated parallel to the long wall and the windows, a little gap between them. In the corner, there was a small, wooden tea table, with its modest surface and small legs, currently empty. The actual walls had fancy golden lanterns hanging from metal spikes, the pointy ends curving upwards. The spikes came out of the wall, they carved the underside of them in a way that it evenly arched in that ninety degrees between the spike and the noble purple walls.

The Masters sat at the right table, waiting for His Majesty, His Majesty's Right-Hand Man, and their missing teammate.

"Bao Luo said that Crane was told to get a new outfit, while His Majesty is coming," Tigress replied from her seat, her hands clasped together on the table.

Monkey squinted at her from the left. "You are pretty snappy today. What's up?"

"It's nothing."

Her indifferent voice was perfect, no one would have guessed that it was actually something. But family surrounded her, and they knew her tells by now.

"Uhum, now let's try again. _What's up Tigress?_ " Mantis asked from Monkey's left, his question intentionally pressed.

"None of your business," she growled at him, her intertwined paws gripping one another.

Mantis reared back with broad eyes, sharing a look with Monkey. Viper pursed her lips, watching the tense tiger, his tail rattling.

"What's your problem?" the insect said, raising his voice.

"As I said, _none of your business,_ bug _._ "

Mantis' eye twitched, his legs readied to jump at the tiger, while Monkey readied himself to catch his best buddy. Tigress also tensed her own set of muscles, Viper already circling around her right arm soothingly, though the blind could see it was also for the sake of stopping the appendage if push comes to shove.

Suddenly, a loud _thunk_ cut through the suffocating tension in the air. Four sets of eyes turned to the other side of the table where Shifu was glaring back at them, his staff firmly placed on the ground.

"Dragon Warrior, if you would be so kind." the red panda said, not removing his eyes from the four Masters.

The attention turned to the panda on the seat next to Shifu. Looking around awkwardly, Po fumbled with his fingers under the table as he cleared his throat.

"Guys please, this is kinda serious. The first time any of us meets the Emperor, and I'm not sure about you guys, but I'd rather give him a good first impression. So could we all just… calm down? You can fight it out after this meeting?"

The delinquents didn't look happier, but they nodded without energy nonetheless.

"We are sorry, Dragon Warrior."

Po, for once in his life, didn't smile hearing his awesome title.

"Master Tigress," Shifu spoke up, his brow still furrowed but his eyes no longer strict, "What ires you?"

Said tiger clenched her jaw and looked to the side, her eyes telling millions of thoughts. Those thoughts disappeared with a resigned sigh.

"I just… can't fathom how one can act so blatantly disrespectful like this Bao character. He calls His Majesty the Emperor 'my boss', talks about China's most crucial room and people like they are unworthy of even mentioning, and then abuses his rank to… _sustain his crazed desires._ I'm shocked that people would just let him run around like that, much less in such a high position of power."

"I mean," Monkey spoke up, "I understand your problem with the 'my boss' part, that's a big taboo, yeah, but the rest are…"

"The rest are what?" Tigress asked pointedly, turning to the simian.

"I dunno. There must be a lot of things we don't know or weren't told, so who knows? Maybe His Majesty allowed Bao to do as he pleases. Maybe not," Monkey said with a shrug by the end.

"Don't be ridiculous," Tigress said, scoffing, "What I see is an obvious maniac ignoring all the important traditions past generations have set up _for a reason_."

"So…" Po began, shattering the silence, "Whatcha gonna do about it then?"

Tigress sighed. "Probably take it up with Crane. He seems to find a common voice with Bao."

"Yeah, they are really close," Viper said, happy that the tension is over, "What do you think happened that they had to separate?"

Mantis rubbed his chin. "True, they look like a package deal."

" _OH MY GOD_ _WHAT'S UP, MISTER BOOMBASTIC?_ "

" _GODDAMNIT BAO, DON'T LAUGH!_ "

Bao's roaring laugh and Crane's borderline screech made several Masters jump. Before they could turn on their chair to look behind, their friend's voice spoke again, right as the latches of the double-door moved.

"Please guys, don't turn around."

Turn around they did either way.

"Duuude, you look..." Mantis said, his jaw slack.

Crane's long legs marched up to the table, to the place right to Tigress and opposite to Shifu, and head-butted the expensive furniture. The Masters tracked the spectacle with their eyes, not really finding the right words to make a comment on Crane's new appearance.

"I feel like exactly the words you think I look like," Crane mumbled lowly as Bao also stepped through the doors, tears in his eyes.

"Flamboyant?" Monkey asked, having one hand covering his mouth so as not to snicker.

"Outlandish?" Po asked, looking at his friend's new outfit with owlish eyes.

"Dressed for the occasion?" Tigress also spoke up, a smile finally finding its way onto her face.

Crane raised his head, his face passive and unimpressed.

"It doesn't look bad actually," Viper spoke, smiling widely at that amazing piece of clothing on his friend's body, "It's just... weird seeing you in a formal clothing."

It really was weird. The only time they had seen Crane without the purple sash-blue pants combination was at the Winter Festival, when the sash turned red and the pants turned to a whiter shade. The current outfit was a vibrant crimson _robe_. Similar to Lord Shen's, it covered the avian's legs, and the sleeves were wide enough to dangle from his wings. But while they made Shen's robe for a peacock's stooping form, this robe was narrower, made for the taller and more uptight cranes. The wall of the outside hall was a lively shade of red, but Crane's robe reflected the sun's reaching shine and just itself gave a new light to the room;

Also, vibrant red and Master Crane didn't look that good together, like, at all.

The avian Master covered his face with his wings, whimpering pitifully as the expensive material rubbed over his feathers. This was also the time when Bao, who had been idling at the side of the double doors, heard the handles turn and smiled a knowing smile.

"The goat who picked this out had serious murder vibes. Her eyes were looking into my soul I swear."

"Having problems with the people of the Palace, Jia?"

The never-before-heard voice distracted the occupants of the room, making them turn towards the door. There stood Bao in all its amused glory, right next to yet another avian, this one wearing a vesture similar to Crane's, but golden colored, and a cloak that reached the ground behind his person, also golden. The Masters didn't need much time to realize who this was; the dark circular hat with the askew board on top and the interwoven pearls hanging from both sides of the board could mean only one person.

His Majesty.

The Emperor.

Po gasped when the two made eye contact. " _Woah_ , he looks like Crane but older."

The Emperor's worn but still strong features lit up in his laughter, hauntingly similar to the aforementioned Master's own.

"Astute observation, Dragon Warrior. Maybe... 'Master Crane' could shed some light on the reason," he said, his hand gesturing to the person in question.

The rest looked at their friend for answers. Bao's being was shaking, his cheeks puffing up in his trials not to laugh at the comical disorientation of absolute befuddlement paired with that somehow visible paling and unhinged beak.

„F-father?!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Story Miscellaneous  
> #13:With Crane's name revealed, the Author decided not to confuse the readers and keep on refering to him as Crane with a capital C. The name 'Jia' will be used frequently enough, as now we start getting personal with our beloved protagonist.  
> #14:My other work, 'Crane's hat' is a kind of prequel to this story, even if the events there have no influence on this story. It plays right before Chapter 1.  
> #15:Turns out, calling the Chinese Emperor his name was a giant taboo. So much so, even the Emperor's mother couldn't call him on his name. 'His Majesty the Emperor' was a common way of calling them when they weren't present.  
> #15A:Imagine not being able to call the heads of your countries by their real name, not even in private, instead you have to murder your vocabulary.
> 
> Chapter 5 Miscellaneous  
> #1:Young cranes are called 'colts'. The Author did extensive research on that, since as far as he knew, young horses were called colts. Lo and behold, they are named the same.  
> #2:Sanheyuan buildings were widely spread in the southern part of China, especially in the Fujian region. These compounds were inverted U-shaped horizontally with the main building in the middle, and a wall linking the two forward-thrusting side wings. The wall obscured the small courtyard in the middle.  
> #3:This chapter was the Author's first trial at world building. It was also the first time the Author introduced a crucial character with the use of his studies in the art of Writing.  
> #3A:Worldbuilding wasn't as bad as I thought it would be to be honest. And writing Bao was a joy, best friendships are amazing!


	6. His Majesty, The Emperor

Forty per minute.

This was the rate of glances in the Emperor's tea room for most Masters, as they couldn't help but look in between Crane and his Majesty. But how could they, when every turn of the eye meant another found similarity shared by the two avians. Same beige colored beak that curved the same way at the base, even their size was almost on point. Both had blonde eyes, Crane's pair a tone brighter than the Emperor's. A black feathered neck, with the exact same dull, bluish shine disappearing under the breathtaking and lustrous robe, that emerged his figure from the violet of the walls.

"Wait, this is your old man?" Monkey asked, pointing with his thumb to his Majesty.

" _Master Monkey_ ," Shifu said, sending a harsh glare at the suddenly very apologetic Master.

"Sorry, Mast- _Shifu_."

"Don't look so alarmed, son…" the Emperor said, and Viper had to stop herself from cooing at the sentimental tone the word 'son' came out, "I don't bite."

Crane opened his beak, just for a strained, high-pitched 'meep' to come out, nothing else. He didn't know if the chi was influencing his feelings, or he was just being his regular emotional self, but he nonetheless found his throat uncomfortably clenching and his heart speeding until it banged against his ribcage. The skin under his feathers pulsed from the quickened bloodstream and he would have sweated if he had been capable of such action. His rebooting mind lurched like a massive dark hole, that sucked in every bit of information his senses provided, but this was about the point where it stopped handling them. All those data laid at the pit of that hole, lost, useless, forgotten, right next to his jumbled up thoughts, that looked like burnt out trees after a forest fire.

But he didn't care, because _those_ yellow eyes were looking at him, the same ones that dazzled in the lantern's light whenever his Pa told him a grand bedtime story. _Those_ worn facial lines surrounded them, and he remembered fondly how the people used to say how alike him and his father looked. He had always found a tinge of satisfaction at knowing that he inherited such a wonderful man's features. _That_ dark feather color greeted him, rustling enthusiastically on his father's cheek, neck, and a memory raised itself up from the hole.

" _Pa, your feathers…"_

" _What of them? I hope they are pretty."_

" _Y-yeah… They are just like mine, look!"_

" _Well I'll be darned. Just imagine the shine they will get when you grow up. One that the Lei family was so famous for."_

" _Woah… Pretty…"_

Like a fog on a windy day, the memory dissipated away from his sight, and the Emperor's lightened smile welcomed him back. Crane could see a bead of moisture growing in the corners of those familiar eyes, and a shaky left wing came up to rest on his shoulder, gripping it with its welcoming energy and love. That encompassing warmth spread through his shoulder, and his entire right side went numb when the touch manifested in him. A touch, that he last experienced two decades ago, and his body was borderline buckling under itself from the feeling of just, _having it back again_.

Barely above the marble ground, wind rustled the hanging edge of the table's cover, while the potted plants in the windows quasi grew in size.

"My son... Gosh, just look at you," his Majesty said in a strained voice, looking Crane up and down.

"Pa…?" the avian Master said, though it came out more like a whimper, and it regained the attention of those eyes he missed so much. The Emperor's wing slid up from his shoulder, cupping Crane's cheek and caressing it softly. He closed his eyes and let it happen, enjoying the giddy bliss soaking into his white feathers as it refreshed his facial muscles with a cool tingle.

"It's me, son," the Emperor said, his voice almost bursting from the affection.

"W-what are you doing here, Pa?" Crane whispered. The word 'Pa' had a fascinating effect on him, a simple two letter word told with such hesitance, yet every time it was uttered, Crane felt like an awaking sunflower looking at the greatest body of the sky.

And then Bao happened.

"Oh, he just got lost in the road of life, and ended up here in fancy Emperor masquerade," the white-naped crane spoke up, his smile borderline wicked and widening the more the temperature lowered in the room at words, "Quite a coincidence, wouldn't you think so?"

Crane could swear that the crashing of shattering glass echoed in his ears at this moment. Any processes his state had seconds before halted, and he spawned enough mind coherency to take his eyes off his father and look at Bao's smug beak.

"Humorous. But, only _you_ would get lost on a one way road, so please, don't lower anyone to your level."

And wasn't that an effective way of bringing back the room's heat? The taken aback Bao spluttered in his umbrage, his wing going to his chest. Crane could hear the muffled snorts behind him, presumably Mantis and Monkey trying not to make their reactions sound. His father laughed freely on the other hand, his voice deep but with lightness evident in it.

"Oh Bao, dear Bao. I believe you just got 'dissed'," the elder crane said to his side, and his Right-hand Man turned to him with a face tense as ever. Crane cracked a grin at how Bao's red face-patches started matching his own crimson robe in intensity.

"First of all, no stealing my catchphrases Qiang. I worked too hard for them," Bao said, his wing held up towards the Emperor's person like when a parent scolded their child. Then he turned to Crane, "And I'll… _allow_ that, just because this was genuinely funny and I seriously missed your sass. Expect revenge though. _Just saying…_ "

"Yeup. That was a chill on my back," Crane said, and finally let out a sizeable breath, his body relaxing likewise. His eyes met his father's pair, and reality finally staked a claim in him; his best friend and his father were here, healthy, _beaming._

For a second time of the day, the rest of the Masters bared witness to their friend throwing his wings around someone, and they wondered if this endearing sight would be a usual one from now on.

"Wow!" Qiang said, surprised, but didn't hesitate to return the hug, „Someone is enthusiastic. When you were just a child, you were afraid of mere winds. You thought it would blow you away."

Crane tensed in the hug. "Y-yeah, the wind and I always... a-always had a weird relationship."

Qiang stroked his son's back and cocked his head. "Is that so? Now that you mention, it _is_ quite windy here. Wonder why."

The Masters could swear they heard the sounds of rubber screeching on a stone at this moment, and they dropped their wide-eyed gaze onto the ground, where the table covers erratically swung everywhere.

"The window is open," Tigress spoke up with her monotonous, almost bored voice, but her claws were touching, almost clicking.

Qiang and Crane disconnected the hug by this point, the Emperor noticing the fully open window at the back of the tearoom.

"Oh my. Well, that certainly explains it." he said, before motioning to his Right-hand Man, "Bao, would you be so kind and close it?"

Bao, who had been thoughtfully watching the events, nodded and made his way over to the window. While he did that, he observed from the corner of his eye as Qiang and Crane both took their places at the table; the Emperor at the end with his son and Shifu at his sides, while Crane stood next to Tigress. Servants of various species piled into the room at that moment, one of them holding a bronze-colored jug, another held a circular tray with teacups on it. While the servants provided them with the steaming refresher, he intently watched his best friend and his trials to take even breaths, seemingly trying to calm himself. Most of the Masters glanced back at _his direction,_ something that he found glaringly obvious, like they were waiting for him to do something.

_Curious…_

Bao took hold of the windows and moved them, but right before the windows were completely closed, he made a show of stopping to scratch his chest. Much to his surprise, the wind disappeared faster than he actually closed the windows, and his eyes narrowed when he witnessed the clasped paws of the tiger Master's tightening subtly on the table, as well as the Dragon Warrior cringing at _something_.

_Weren't Jia's eyes lighter before?_

"E-erm, dad? _"_ Crane spoke up suddenly, gulping at how alien the word sounded, "Where's our seats?"

One of Qiang's eye-lids raised. "Seats? Son, we are cranes. We cannot sit down even if we wanted to."

"I know, I know, I'm just..." Crane said, his beak stretched into a thin line, "Yeah, you are right."

Crane may have wanted to dismiss the topic, but Qiang wasn't having any of it.

"No, no, I'm interested actually. Please continue."

Crane faltered when he noticed how not only his friends were looking at him now, but the servants and the guards too. A sickening hollowness struck his chest, and _no_ , he definitely wasn't having another anxiety attack, especially not with _these_ circumstances. Thankfully, his distress was noted, and Shifu came to the rescue of his ex-student.

"When the new Furious Five was formed, Master Crane had troubles fitting in," he began, gaining the attention of the many people in the room, and Crane could have collapsed in relief, "So Master Oogway and I figured out ways that could help him feel less secluded. Having him a seat at the dinner table, even with the obvious anatomical problems, was Master's idea."

Qiang nodded along, leaning in to listen to every word. He put his elbows on the table, and the sleeves of his golden robe fell down, exposing familiar white and black wings, with a gray line between them. The appendages covered each other below his face and his beak rested on the bridge they made.

"Well, I cannot go against such a wise character's solutions, especially if they are for the welfare of my only son, now can I? Could you bring two more chairs?"

"Certainly, Your Divine Highness," Bao said with a deep bow, before leaving the room.

Shifu had never thought he would see the moment when a humble smile takes reign on an Emperor's face. From his experience, the rulers of China either lacked humility, or had been too used to honorifics by that point. Now that the red panda thought about it as he looked into his cup, the Bordeaux red liquid swaying gently; he knew very little of this new Emperor, besides his name and the identity of his son. Did he get the proper training that every heir to the throne got? Was he a noble before? A Eunuch? Can't be, Crane would have mentioned at one point that he was of an important family and-

Shifu shook his head. No, he wouldn't have. Master Crane was exactly the kind of person who would hide something like this.

"Oh!" Viper spoke up, looking into her tea surprised, "This is one of the best teas I've ever had."

"Hear, hear," Monkey and Mantis said, the simian gulping down the liquid vigorously. The cup obscured the insect's form, as in order for him to drink, he had to tilt it towards himself.

"I've _got_ to get the recipe for this!" Po said, looking at his tea like it was the source of everything joyous, "My dads would love this."

"Your... dads?" Qiang asked, having his own cup enclosed in his wings.

"Yeah, I was kinda adopted when I was little, but then I found my original dad, and now I have two of them! Cool, right?"

Shifu wanted to bang his head onto the table. This was _not_ how you speak with the Son of Heaven. The irony was a little too real; this was the Panda who reprimanded his students to make a good first impression.

Thankfully, his Majesty didn't look fazed. "Well, it seems that reconciling with family has been a fashionable choice for fate these days."

Crane hesitantly returned the warm smile sent his way, still a little shaken from the borderline anxiety attack.

"And I'm happy the tea is good, I..." Shifu was getting more curious by the minute, because now the Emperor was avoiding eye contact, like someone who was _not_ _sure,_ "…made it. Hope my skills didn't fade."

' _Eh, right, I'm just relieved Viper liked the painting, I… made it. At least I haven't forgotten how to hobby, right?'_

'Like father, like son' they say. In all honesty, the red panda heavily wondered what did Crane inherit from his mother's side.

Bao arrived with the chairs at this moment and placed both behind the avians. When he finished putting down Crane's chair, the Master suddenly yelped, and snapped back towards his best friend with a dirty look. Bao just smiled his wicked smile, and winked back, raising his wing at the Emperor. Qiang nodded at him, allowing him to talk.

„My Emperor, if I may, you were Lord Kekao's personal cook. He sang praises upon your tea and noodle soup. I wouldn't have doubted myself in your place."

Well, there goes Shifu's investigation. Whatever happened in the day of the attack, Kekao's cook ended up avenging the fallen Emperor. Which also meant that Crane's father had killed people, but the others didn't have to know how gruesome dynasty changes were usually. Shifu took another sip from his cup and wondered; what is the name of the current one?

Qiang hummed. "Eh, all right, you win this round."

"You were a cook!?" Po asked in a delighted exclaim, and Tigress sent him a murderous look. Whether it was because you just _don't_ shout at his Majesty no matter what, or because she was genuinely annoyed at his deafening volume, Shifu didn't know. This question was actually quite hard to answer, since Tigress had been silently seething for sometime now from the amount of questionable events happening, and the red panda wondered if Crane's father had a room full of destructible wood or even metal that the populous was free to destruct.

Qiang simply grinned, not at all disturbed by it. "That I was. Still is. A good one from what I heard."

"One of my dads is an owner of a noodle and sushi shop. His secret ingredient soup is the best in the world," Po said, and Qiang's eye-lids raised in interest.

"In that case, I would like to test my skills against him. I'm sure it would propose a challenge or two."

Po rubbed his hands together, an excited smile gracing his lips. "Oh man, dad will be nuts if he hears this!"

Shifu suddenly found himself in the crossfire of two people casually chatting about cooking, Viper making a third front of attack by occasionally adding her two cents, while he could do nothing but taking a deep breath. He didn't have enough tea to survive this. Thankfully, a wolf servant noticed his struggles, and dutifully poured him another fill. Shifu looked at the grey-furred fellow, wearing a downgraded version of Bao's attire, and he had a sudden realization.

_Lord Kekao's servants were all foxes, just like him._

The red panda shrugged, dismissing the thought. Who was he to tell the Emperor how to manage his Palace?

On the other side of the table, Monkey and Mantis began bickering about whether the Emperor could cook a better meal than , with Mantis relentlessly claiming that the goose was the better cook and Monkey questioning it after the liquid heaven Qiang made. Tigress in the meantime quietly contemplated her future words to some of her friends, _especially_ to Bao Luo. She may also have had been humming a soft tune under her breath, calming herself down gradually. She couldn't allow herself to sink to the chaos that this 'tea party' became.

Her voice must have deepened in the last year, she noticed, because it had a scratching noise to it. She subconsciously flicked her ears, trying to make it go away, but the foreign sound was still here. Gripping the cup, she stopped humming, deciding that it was not worth it. Much to her chagrin, the noise was still very present, louder than before and it had a _direction_ now. She opened her eyes and turned to her side, where Crane 'sat', and found the source of her bother; the avian was actively scratching himself with his talons, his face confronted in a grimace.

"You all right?" she asked, gaining his attention.

"I'm... not. This robe is literally killing me."

Tigress glanced at the red clothing and frowned.

"Why? It looks your size."

"It's not the size, it's the material..." Crane whispered, subtly swinging his wing in a way, that its sleeve flopped to Tigress' side. She looked down at the offering, and with her pinkie, she smoothed over the material in question.

"Silk?"

Crane dipped his head, and a quiet sniff left him when he tried to stop his running nose.

"But you are allergic to silk," she said, and Crane knew that the worry in her voice was not to be mentioned or _consequences_.

"I know."

"Then why don't you tell your father?"

" _Because,_ he was the one who specifically chose this for me and I'm not sure about his reaction if I told him I'd rather not have it around," Crane said, his body shaking from a successfully blocked sneeze, "Or better, _live without it_."

Crane's eyes met hers, and he already knew he messed up when those fiery pools hardened.

"Well, either you tell him, or sneeze and destroy the city. Your choice."

"Oh please, Tigress don't-" he was ready to literally beg her not to force a decision out of him, when his father spoke up

"Is there a problem, son?"

The evil robe, with its airy design and blazing hue, clung to his body while he took a swift turn to his other side, where his father expected an answer. He gulped at the reflection of his own eyes inspecting him, asking the silent question 'Are you okay?', and Crane couldn't help but hear the fatherly tone with all its loving core and caring bark that went right to his heart, where it found ample home within. He also felt Tigress' stern look from his behind, and he sighed. With one side pushing him, the other waiting for him with open arms, how could he think about chickening out?

"A-actually, there is. Pa, I know that it's not your fault, we _really_ haven't had any experience with it, I found it out only in the Academy, but…" Of course his father had to look ready to panic at this moment, "I'm kinda…. allergic… to silk."

He said the last bit with a whisper, but he may as well screamed it. His friends bit their lip upon realizing that the robe's glistening texture wasn't because it was just extraordinarily clean. Bao squinted at his best friend from his place next to the Emperor, and tsked when he realized that, _of course_ Jia would be allergic to silk. The only material that they couldn't get any when they were children since it was way too expensive, but he always looked rather sick after pranking a person of high rank. It was also quite funny to think about, because _if_ Jia were to stay here indefinitely, everyone in the Palace would have to let go of their beloved silk, Emperor's orders. Wouldn't that make some juicy drama?

Qiang meanwhile…

"Oh god, I'm... deeply sorry son. You're right, I-I didn't know, um," the Emperor stuttered, his eyes jumping from Crane's face to the silk. Realizing the magnitude of the problem, his beak stretched into a thin line, and his yellow depths lost focus for a moment, trying to gather an idea.

Then they lit up with one.

"Bao, if you would be so kind, can you have him another outfit? Preferably made of cotton."

"Yes, your Divine Highness."

"A-and no funny business! I remember how the two of you were, and I know Jia didn't start all those tricks and jokes."

Bao bowed, which allowed him to hide his snickers.

"Do not worry. Your son will come back silkless and trickless, with cotton on the side. And in one piece, if you doubt that. Though his dignity may be a lost cause."

Qiang ignored the banter and sighed with the barest of chuckles. "Thank you."

The white-naped crane turned to the side and allowed his best friend to leave the table. Bao's wings gestured towards the door, a grin clear on his beak, as the glaring Crane passed him. Out of the blue, the Master's wing shot out, hooked under his friend's hood, and forced it forward, right onto the other bird's head. Funny thing about Bao's attire, its hood was designed for birds with longer necks, so whenever the avian was wearing it, the sides always wrinkled, ready to be elongated furthermore. Exploiting this, Crane pulled it to its max extent, and he got the end stuck on the tip of Bao's beak, before said bird could slap his appendage away.

"Whoops," Crane said, his voice wearing a nasal coating.

His best friend managed to pry the hood away, revealing twinkling eyes. After putting cloth extension neatly behind him, he sneered back.

"You little…"

And with that, the best friends left through the double doors. The last thing the Masters saw was Crane and Bao sharing a pair of smiles, one hesitant, the other entertained, but both gentle to an obvious degree.

Whispers filled the room after the doors closed, and the table went back to drinking the delicacy, occasionally throwing half-assed sentences around. Shifu eyed his Majesty, whose distinguished hat skewed thanks to him rubbing his own head. Shifu knew that rubbing; not for the sake of relieving pain, but a self-reassuring action, something he was very much familiar with. Then, the Emperor faintly sipped on his tea and a golden cat servant immediately approached him with the jug, refilling his Majesty's cup. Qiang thanked the bowing servant, who went back to his place at the wall, next to the grey wolf. Shifu wouldn't have paid this much attention to such an everyday interaction, had it not been because the Emperor was dropping obvious clues of his distress; throughout all this, he was sending glances at the door, his head tilted a bit towards the exit. Shifu looked over Qiang's being, and _would you look at that_ , the Emperor's nervous tic differed from his son's; while Crane randomly flexed his tucked in wings, his Majesty kept rolling his shoulders under that heavy robe.

"I can assure Your Divine Highness, that Crane is an exceptionally trained Master and there is no reason to worry for his well-being," Shifu said, and the Emperor's sigh shook in accordance to his heart.

"I know, I know. He has grown up and is one of the best in Martial Arts..." Qiang began, his voice quiet and low-key, "But even so, I haven't seen him in decades. I simply cannot help but fear that the smallest of inconveniences would take him away before we could reconcile."

Shifu watched his Majesty shake his head, and gaze at Crane's empty seat.

"Cranes usually have two eggs," he spoke up, louder this time, and the Masters stopped their trivial chatting, "Me and Yan, Jia's mother, were no exception either. Everything seemed to go smoothly. Jia was the first to hatch, and he was the healthiest boy I've ever seen. A little fragile and light, still healthy. But his sibling..."

Shifu had to force down the sudden corrupting feeling of horror as Qiang's shaking wings raised the cup to his beak again, and the avian took an elegant taste, looking ahead at the table's surface with dry eyes. The red panda knew those eyes; every time he spoke about Tai Lung, he had them. A pair of depths, that had already cried the grief away.

"The egg didn't hatch for days. We were waiting and waiting, praying that he or she was just... late. Jia was always there, next to the egg, hugging it, trying to persuade his sibling to come out. Then one night, Jia woke us up, saying that the egg smelt 'funny'. Me and my darling got there quickly, and we found..."

_Oh boy…_

" _We_ …." his Majesty had to gulp his emotions away, "The egg was rotten. Spoiled. We were devastated, but… not as much as Jia. He was having nightmares after that _for_ _weeks_ , about his sibling leaving him. Sometimes it was a sister, sometimes a brother. Sometimes he even had two siblings, both leaving him behind."

"How did he… get over it?" Viper asked, her voice rich and tainted by distinctive empathy.

None of them expected Qiang to titter.

"I can thank Bao for that. The kid was a bundle of energy and the perfect specimen of a social butterfly. He was also an orphan, but that didn't fully excuse why he never left Jia's side after the moment they met. We had no clue what was going on and no matter how much we asked around, we wouldn't get a straight answer. In the end, we concluded that Bao found someone who can put up with his endless energy and Jia found someone who can possibly take the place of the sibling he never had. Either that or the Laozi character was onto something with his preachings about Tao and opposites being born from and for the other," he said, sighing longingly. He raised his eyes and met the Masters' own, smiling.

"It was one of the most heartbreaking sights to see them separate. _But_ , now they are together again, and I'm not sure even my orders could isolate them this time."

While Viper subconsciously curled into a small loop on her chair, her heart struck clenching, the rest didn't utter a word. Even Po felt his muscles strangely loose, and while hunger did call out to him, he ignored it for once. The rest had nothing to add either, besides somber nodding and, in Mantis' case, some re-evaluation of life choices.

Voices came from the other side of the door, making several ears and even some gazes turn that way.

" _._..and then we will fight to the death and beyond!"

"Okay, first, dramatics were never your suite, so stop it. Second, you seriously don't want to spar with me."

"Aww, you care about my well-being? I see you kept being a gentleman."

"That too, but your fragile pride is at stake here. Who knows what happens if that gets shattered after I clean up the floor with you."

"H-hey! My pride is not _fragile_ , it's set in stone! Take that back!"

An undignified snort escaped Monkey, who immediately slapped a hand above his mouth. Viper raised herself once again, tilting her head towards the door with her lips curled up.

"This was a daily thing to hear. How I missed it," Qiang said, rubbing his cup with closed eyes, and let the banter reach him.

The voices behind the door suddenly halted.

"Hey, do you think they heard us coming?" Bao's voice asked.

"Probably," Crane's own answered, flat, to-the-point and no longer nasal.

"Probably is not a yes, so I think we should make your reveal a little _spicier_."

"Probably is not a no either. And what do you mean by 'spicier'?"

"You walking in is boring. How about I give you an amazing premiere, and then _you_ come in stylishly."

A familiar groan of exasperation made Po guffaw.

"I will not do anything embarrassing. But I guess you'll-"

" _HERE I COME!"_

" _-_ embarrass yourself for the two of us... _"_

The double doors opened explosively, hitting and bouncing back from some unlucky servants. Bao himself stepped, or more like strutted in with his wings held up and wide, his face set in comical seriousness.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, get ready for the Jade Palace sensation, a Master on its own right, the best of the best when it comes to jest…. _Master_ _Crane._ "

Said avian came through the doors, with a similar crimson robe he had before, but thicker, less shiny, and a little fluffier. His face was free of any held back sneeze, sniff, and his wings didn't move to scratch himself throughout his quick walk in, though it may have been because he was too preoccupied with hiding under his rice hat, also obscuring the rest of his face with said feathered appendages.

"As you can see, he decided to choose an exotic robe. If you ask me, this could _and_ would revolutionize China's fashion sense. Entire made of cotton, it- _mhpfpmh_ "

He couldn't finish his monologue, because Crane's taloned feet came up and firmly gripped his beak together.

" _Shut. It."_

Bao gave a wholly innocent look to those glaring eyes that peeked out from under the circular edge of the rice hat. Seeing this, Crane huffed and let go, regaining his place at the table without tipping up his hat.

"You feeling good, son?" Qiang asked, just as entertained as the rest of the table. The situation forced even Tigress to 'massage her jaw'.

"Allergy-wise? Peachy. Grandeur-wise? Absolutely delirious."

Bao hummed. "Oh, he loved it."

"Just as much as getting my wing clipped," Crane answered as he raised his head with a weary sigh, making his face visible once more.

Bao grinned at him from his place at the right side of the Emperor, a grin that wanted to be mocking, but his eyes shone with liberated happiness, and the dimples at the very base of his beak told another story. Crane's grumpy look melted off his face seeing that, and he smirked back, a wide, giddy one, telling Bao just exactly how he felt about having him once again.

Qiang didn't miss the interaction, and he nodded to himself. This was all before he seemingly took on an entirely new facade, an Emperor's facade.

_Everything as it was…_

"So, now that all of us are here, let's get down to business, shall we? As you may have guessed, I did not request your attendance just for the sake of introducing myself and reconnecting with my son, even though I admit it had been a part of my intentions. The other reason would be a plea for help."

"What's the nature of the help?" Shifu asked decisively, his back held straight, while his hands clasped together on the table, encircling his cup.

"Am I right to assume that everyone in the room has been notified of the happenings just short of a week ago?"

His answer was firm nods all around.

"Good. Originally, the situation included the army of bandits. Least to say, they did not appreciate their plans foiled and their leaders no more," Qiang began, his eyes calculating and piercing as they made contact with the Masters, "Their attacks gained ferocity since then, and I'm not confident Lin'an could take another direct hit. Our soldiers are either exhausted from the last battle or too far to mobilize before the next strike. That's why I asked for your help; to defend the city in the next battle. I would be eternally grateful."

Po waved the problem off. "That's all right, we can take on a group of bandits. That's our speciality, actually."

"If I had a coin after every bandit 'army' I met, I'd buy the Jade Palace and still have enough to think about building another," Mantis added, sharing his friend's line of thought.

"Because you know _so much_ about Palace management," Monkey said, to which the insect simply shrugged.

"Can't be that hard."

"Now that's something I'd like to see," Bao mumbled to himself, mostly.

Shifu cleared his throat. "Your Divine Highness said 'originally'. Has there been a change while we were on the road?"

A grimace flashed through Qiang's face, before he sighed wearily.

"I am afraid yes. Right after I sent my plea to the Jade Palace, I got a notice from a Lady from the north, telling me that she has successfully gained complete control over North-east China, Southern Mongolia, and the Manchuria region. Her notice also contained a subtle version of her future plans of expansion to the south, the capital city included."

"So we have to go against bandits _and_ a Lord? Awesome!" Po said, unfazed by the exponentially growing things to fight against.

"We have never faced that many opponents before, but…" Crane noted, finally having a taste of his lukewarm tea. His body went slack when the liquid reached his tongue, and he didn't hesitate to savor his father's home-made tea, another thing he missed dearly.

"But we faced both of them. Separately, but still," Mantis said, and Qiang let himself marvel at how nonchalant these people were about the situation.

"Even so, I may have found a way to ease the burden from our shoulders," the Emperor spoke up, regaining the regard of the table, "To our fortune, the Lady is just a warlord, not a madman, evident by her willingness to path to a much _less_ bloody climax to this situation in a form of a _bet_. If I manage to complete the requirements for this bet, the Lady would swear her eternal allegiance to me and the Heavens as a faithful ally. Nothing more, nothing less. If I don't, well… I will have to lean back and watch my home get trampled over."

"Wow. So, how big is this bet? Like, a 'best of three tic-tac-toe' big, or…?" Po asked, and his Majesty snorted. Whether it was because his son managed choke on his tea in the meantime, or because he genuinely found the Dragon Warrior's words funny, no one will know.

"That would be the highlight of China's history. But no, the bet is much greater in size and importance. The Lady values power above all else, which comes with its own quirks. She doesn't discriminate, no matter the person's social status, age, gender, or the gender of their affection's target, she only cares about influence and might. That's why I had to come forth with a deal that… _charmed_ this particular preference of hers."

"As in?" Shifu asked, his heart-rate speeding up.

"As in a tournament of sorts. Her best six fighters, against the Empire's best six, one-on-one matches. The goal is to show enough skill, valor and prowess to impress her, and we win. Of course, the Heavens wouldn't fault any of you if you decide against participating, the miscommunication was wholly my fault, and neither your honor or your name would be tainted upon refusal."

Let it be known, that Tigress didn't feel any drop of annoyance towards her friends at this moment. Looking at his Majesty like he was a delusional maniac was, for once, fitting.

"Are you kidding?!" Po exclaimed, sitting up in his chair, "You are, like, _the Emperor_ and Crane's dad too, and I never had a friend whose dad was alive, which just makes you even more awesome! We'll easily beat this 'best six fighters of hers' with our Kung Fu, then kick those rebelling bandits back where they come from, and after that, we can celebrate with our dads making the food."

While Qiang and the servants were trying to find words, or at least make an appropriate reaction to this outburst, Bao quietly shuffled closer to Crane, and leaned close to his ear for a whisper.

"Does this… usually happen?"

Tigress grunted into her cup from the side, while Crane hummed, examining the sleeves of his cotton robe, his eyes unfocused.

"More times than it'd makes sense."

Bao just blinked, still watching the spectacle the proud Po was. "Wow… I actually have no words."

"Endearing?"

"Hm. You know what? Yeah, endearing is good. Thank you, Little Thesaurus."

Crane rolled his eyes and put his wings back onto the table after seeing his father shake off some flustered feathers.

"W-well, in that case…" Qiang said, collecting his wits, "Can I expect help by the Masters of the Jade Palace?"

Said people simultaneously looked at Po and Shifu, awaiting their decision. Seeing that, Po held up his hands, palms showing.

"We are in, but guys, it's your decisions too."

"Being part of the Master's council prohibits us from making decisions in the name of other Masters."

Knowing that, most Masters didn't hesitate to voice their agreement.

"It would be a great honor to serve the Emperor and defend the Mandate of Heaven," Tigress said.

"Yeah! Let's do it!" Mantis said, his enthusiastic words counting for his best buddy. Crane glanced down at his right wing, the onyx shine darkening through the cotton of the crimson sleeves, and with a deep breath, he nodded firmly.

Qiang itched to reach out towards his son, wanting to tell how _proud_ he was of what his child became. The child, who had to watch his parents literally strap blankets to any protruding edge of the furniture for his supposed 'safety'. And now, here they were, and his son was willingly going into battle for his country, and for his father.

_If only Yan could see you, Jia…_

The only one who didn't voice their agreement was Viper. She was seemingly inspecting the pattern of the table's cover, but Monkey could see her tail rattling quietly behind her.

"I…"

"Vi?"

The snake snapped her head up, her eyes shaking.

"I-it'd be a g-great honor," she said, her weak voice faltering.

_Who was she kidding?_

"Okay, let's try again _. What's up, Vi?_ " Mantis asked, using his recently developing catchphrase for instances when one of his friends hid things.

Seeing that she was cornered, the snake uncurled her body, her tail falling limp over the seat of her chair.

"It's just… the stakes are so high and, we have never fought… without each other."

The others may have fallen into her generalization, but sadly, Crane heard what Viper actually meant.

_I have never fought… without one of you guys helping me._

"We'll do fine! _"_ Po began, and the snake turned to him, "They have no way of beating us. Kung Fu has defeated the thing that kills Kung Fu, meaning that Kung Fu is unbeatable, so whatever they are coming at us with, Kung Fu beats it. Simple logic."

Bao chewed on the side of his beak, leaning to Crane again.

"Do you have a synonym for… 'kinda stupid, but weirdly encouraging and persuasive'?"

"Po Ping."

The white-naped Crane looked at him, befuddled, before seeing that subtle beckon towards the panda's person, and suddenly Bao understood.

"Yeah, sounds accurate 'nuff."

Viper kept silent in the meantime, her mind torn two sides.

"W-well then…" Viper began, but a phantom of _something_ covered her usually calming voice in an emotion, much like tar would coat the stairs of a divine celestial, „Yes, Let's hope for the best."

"The Heavens will remember this deed of yours, Master Viper," Qiang said, his chin held high, "The fights will take place three days from now on, enough time for you to rest after the strenuous journey and prepare for the tournament, I hope?"

"That would be agreeable," Shifu said, standing up from his seat, the rest of the Masters following his example one by one.

"Marvelous. Now if you excuse me, I have to consult the Lady about further details on the tournament," the Emperor said, and the servants lined up on his side. "Your rooms for the time of your stay are ready for you, Bao will escort you."

And with that, his Majesty left the tearoom, most of the servants following.

Crane felt Bao's presence behind him, tensing when he felt his friend's well-cared feathers touch his shoulder and rub it in a circular pattern.

"So… How did you like Main Course?"

* * *

The moon had nicked her ankles over the horizon, her red irritation conquering the sky. The sun laughed in his warm, booming laugh, running away from the wrath he would sure get otherwise. She huffed, but gradually calmed down, and she slowly took the heavens over by her signature darkness. She settled down among her blinking children and made eye-contact with the sunny depths looking out from one window of the Emperor's palace. They belonged to Crane, the avian Master standing there for sometime, letting the moon's perfect white among the perfect black calm the typhoon in his mind.

He sighed. He still had his cotton robe on, and as his eyes trailed down to the windowsill, the sleeve of the clothing slid off from his raised right wing. That word was still there, not even showing signs of fading. Crane desperately hoped it really was just some kind of sick prank from one of his friends, but it seemed though it wasn't the case. He wondered if it would be there forever, like a tattoo, except that there had been no bird in history with a tattoo for obvious reasons.

The mark didn't look _that_ bad if he were honest. It certainly disrupted the continuous white and grey of his feathers, but since it was darker than his black pattern on the low, it looked like his natural colors were giving a neat background aesthetic to the void-like word. And the lines forming the word 'wind' bothered Crane's mind. Elemental Chi, yet it advertises itself with neither of the actual five elements? Maybe it was because he was a bird, thus Elemental Chi decided to resonate well? But then, since when did Chi start having a conscious to thematic satisfaction and beauty?

Nevertheless, he flicked his wing sideways, putting some momentum into it. The breeze went through the room, and a white scar appeared on the marble walls, the curtains flailing wildly from the powerful blast reflecting from the solid surface.

No progress then. He had 3 days to get ahold of this, while hiding it no less.

_Sigh._

"Jia?"

Crane whipped his body around, his vision filling with the figure of his father clad in his Emperor attire, the door closing behind him.

"O-oh, hi dad. What are you… doing?" Crane asked, eyeing the platter held in Qiang's wings.

"Well, I thought, you know, twenty or so years have passed since my son last tasted his Pa's cuisine, more than too many for this old man's liking if you ask me," the elder bird said, putting the platter down onto the ornate table in Crane's given room, which stood right under the window. The avian Master couldn't help but feel skittish and deeply touched by the fact that his father still remembered his favorite food; tofu buns.

"But, wouldn't it demean your image? You are the Emperor in the end."

Qiang waved him away and gestured to the food. "Ah-ah, don't be like that. Now eat, before some kind of paternal urge takes over me to spoonfeed my little colt until he _bursts."_

"All right, all right. Thanks dad," and with that, Crane took a bun between his beak, and bit down. The flavor rapidly spread through his mouth cavity, his tongue livening up at the richness of the taste. He may have frozen up too, because his father started laughing, presumably at his goofy expression.

"Close your mouth, son, the bite will fall out."

Crane's beak closed with an audible ' _clack'_ , and he began quickly munching away, barely able to resist moaning.

"This tastes better than last time! How - _how is that possible_?" he asked, swiftly taking another entire bun.

"Well, you don't just become his Majesty's cook without learning absolute perfection," Qiang said, his beak curling up into a satisfied smile.

Then suddenly, he found the platter rotated in a way, that a single, isolated tofu bun came into view in front of him.

"Oh, it's not necessary, I-"

"Dad, please. Just eat."

Seeing that he really had no way of talking himself out of this, Qiang shook his head and chuckled.

"You're already preparing to put me in a nursing home, aren't you?"

Crane gulped his mouthful down and shrugged. "You _are_ in your fifties, so I mean…"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence."

Crane sent him a borderline smug look, one that he masked away quickly. Soon, the dimly lit room was filled with the sounds of the two birds chewing, their beaks occasionally clapping together. The Master occasionally sent a glance at his father, watching the cozy bird peacefully enjoy the food. Sadly, it all had to go away, eventually.

"By the way, you still haven't answered my question," Crane spoke up after swallowing his third or fourth serving.

"Hm? Which one?"

"What are you doing here? I mean - how did you become _the Emperor_?"

Qiang's posture dropped. "Oh, that's a long story."

"I have time. Plenty, actually."

Their eyes met, and the hesitance to talk was clear in the Emperor's depths. Crane almost wanted to dismiss his question, his father clearly wasn't a big fan of the topic, much less of discussing it. But he had to know how this all came to be, because for all the imagination his mind was capable of, he couldn't envision any possible series of events that didn't violate any rules of the universe. Honestly.

"All right," Qiang began, his voice colored by a sigh, "Do you have any idea how dynasty changes happen?"

Crane grimaced. "Not really…"

"Sadly, it almost always ends in bloodshed. The Emperor's whole family has to be defeated in order for the populous to deem the dynasty unworthy to hold the Mandate of Heaven. At the night of the attack… Jia, they were just…" Qiang explained, the last bits coming out ragged, " _Brutal_ _savages_. Killed the Kekao's with no remorse whatsoever. I witnessed them drive a sword though the Empress' heart and then discard her body like a rag-doll."

Crane watched his father's walls crumble by their foundation, the older avian's posture falling apart like debris. The Master put a wing around his father's narrow shoulders, and even if he felt his nose run by the regal silk of that robe, he firmly kept his hold.

"D-did you kill them? The bandits I mean."

"…I had to," Qiang said, his voice heavy and his eyes downcast, "For the honor of the Empress' Person and for the People of China, I had to avenge them."

"Dad…"

"No son, your empathy is appreciated, but it is entirely unnecessary. I did what I had to, what was right," and Crane was only half surprised by the hardness of his father's voice as it turned apathetic. Qiang was always a man of his family, but when duty and honor called, the man tended to be very inconsistent with his actions; sometimes he would ignore everything for the sake of his son and wife, sometimes he would disappear for days and come back with a heavy heart and apologies on his tongue.

What Crane remembered is that his father could never give a straight answer. Qiang never got angry at the questions, lashing out was not a thing he was capable of, but the more inquiries came to him, the more guilt-stricken he looked. Every session like this ended up with him and his mother taking pity on the poor man and letting him do his thing.

So letting it go he did.

"How's mom?"

And would you look at that, the man immediately brightened up tenfold.

"Oh! Yan is fine, still lives here in the city somewhere," Qiang said, and Crane let his wing fall from his shoulders.

"Shouldn't she technically be the Empress? You are still married, right?" Crane asked, and he would be lying if he said the concept of _that other scenario_ didn't frighten him.

"We are! We are, don't worry," his father said, reassuring him, "It's just, we were commoners Jia, _commoners_ , it's not that simple for the Grand Council to give its blessings upon us. Me and you were easier, I was the one who took back the Mandate of Heaven, while you are a distinguished Master of the Martial Arts. She has done nothing remarkable in their eyes."

"So…" Crane drawled, taking another bun in his talons, "Bureaucracy?"

"Pretty much."

"When can we see her?" the avian Master asked, because finding his blood family had been the best thing that has happened to him all week, and he wasn't one for unfinished projects. He itched for the warmth of his mom's hugs and his angelic voice, fending off the phantom 'what ifs' about his own self.

Qiang set his beak in a thin line. "Whenever she isn't being bothered by the Eunuchs, basically. For a bunch of grumpy old politicians, they sure as hell can be active."

"Yeah, so did Bao tell me. He hates them," Crane said, smiling at the mention of his best friend as he took a bite from his newly acquired bun.

"'Hate' is a euphemism for what he feels, let me tell you that. But yeah."

This was the moment when Po barged in the room.

"Hey Crane! So, things have changed. Turns out, the bed is not big enough for me, so I'll… sleep… here," he trailed down, seeing not just his friend in the room. He straightened out and fiddled with his fingers behind himself, "Oh, hi your Divine Highness."

"Greetings, Dragon Warrior," Qiang said, looking over the panda's form, "You know, most people your place would already kowtow before me."

"Oh," the panda said, looking around awkwardly, "Should I, like, do it too?"

"No need. In private, I'm nothing but Qiang Lei, father of one Jia Lei." the older avian said, sparing a fond look to his son. Said bird scratched his chest, looking away, "You can refer to me as a friend if you wish, or even dad. I don't mind."

Qiang's words had an effect on Po, the Dragon Warrior gasped at the opportunity.

"So you say, I can have _3 dads_?! That sounds even cooler than defeating phantoms with these elbow pads," at that he showed the room familiar pieces of armor strapped to his body, to which Crane snorted. Remembering that his friend was in the room too, Po produced something else from behind his back, something that made the avian Master's heart do a barrel roll, "Oh yeah, Crane, here is your erhu. I made sure that it wasn't dusty."

"T-thanks." he said, taking perfection in a wooden stringed frame into the embrace of his wings. Qiang's eyes followed the instrument, just as mesmerized by the sight as his son was a week ago.

"Oh son, this looks _beautiful_."

"Yeah, I recently found it in a bazaar. Was an instant buy as you can imagine, hehe," Crane said, torn between an awkward, childish manifestation of the feeling when your parent shows interest in your passion, and that blooming proud-happy combo, unique to these situations when your parent admires and acknowledges your choice of hobby. Not wanting to see his subtle, he turned to put the instrument onto the table, right next to the almost empty platter of buns.

"Will you play it?" Qiang asked, looking over the intricate design of the erhu.

Crane's head snapped up. "L-like, right now?"

"Heavens no! I meant later. When we have free time and Bao won't be busy with whatever he is doing in the library."

"Wait," Crane said, looking at his father like he spoke in another tongue, "Why did I hear 'Bao' and 'library' in a sentence without the word 'fire' or 'explosion'?"

Qiang laughed and patted his son's shoulder. "Don't be mean, Bao has changed a lot. This reminds me, did you know his voice ascended to angelic levels? I _cannot_ wait for the two of you to collaborate."

"O-oh, really? That's-"

"Wait, Crane's gonna have a concert? Uh uh, action music! That's-" Po began rambling, before noticing the pair of questioning looks directed his way. He looked down on himself, and remembered that while Crane and his old man were speaking, he made himself comfortable on his friend's given bed.

"Uhm, I just thought you didn't need the bed? Since, y'know, you always sleep standing. And it's really _comfy…_ can I?"

Crane giggled at his friend's sheepish expression and waved off his worries.

"Cool!" Po said, covering himself fully with the tender blanket, "Wait, I got a brilliant idea. Oh man, what if, after we finished your current training, we find a way for you to play music _while_ fighting? You know, like multitasking."

Crane squinted at his friend, his head tilting. "Is that doable?"

"Crane, nothing is _undoable_ with teaching kung fu. Watch it, it will be the greatest thing China has ever seen."

Qiang eyed his son from the side, grinning when he saw those steadfast cogs moving in Crane's brain.

"There is a philosophy I had always lived by," the Emperor spoke up, gaining the Masters' attention, "Let the duty of betterment be your purpose, even if it is hard to accomplish. No matter how, and with what sacrifice, if you can better the quality of life for at least one person, you must follow it."

"Have a wonderful sleep Dragon Warrior. Welcome back, Jia," and with one last gentle look at Crane's direction, he left the room.

Po watched the exit, his eyes clouded by thoughts and revelations. He tongued the inside of his cheeks, wondering how to approach a topic he had wanted to mention since Bao's grand entrance.

"Sooo…. Jia, huh?"

Crane looked back to his friend, rapid blinking showing his confusion.

"Hm?"

"It's your name then?" Po said, his eyes glancing for the first time at the small amount of buns still uneaten.

"Oh, r-right. Yeah, my name," Crane said, and his wings were already moving the platter to the panda.

"I like it. It's short, like mine."

"Thanks," Crane snorted, and walked next to the bed, "I got it for my birthday."

* * *

Miles away southwest, in the heart of another city called Tunxi, a lone building stood. From the outside, it looked abandoned, dark, almost ready to collapse. Other alike buildings surrounded it from all sides, the whole district laid in shambles, and people avoided it altogether if they could. Even then, a lone figure stood on the patio of the building, wearing tight-fit armor and furrowed brows. He was a red fox, a muscular specimen of his species, but this strength was useless for him right now. For the last hour or so, the only physical exercise he had been practicing is an impatient tapping of his foot, with the occasional twitch and flex of his paws. His eyes had been to the sky, watching the stars intently.

He was waiting for someone.

Who you might ask? Well, the veil of the night was a thick layer to hide behind, and the fox could only see the dark figure when it stepped right next to him.

"O-oh, my General. I had been waiting for you." he said, turning to the dark figure.

"Yeah, my bad. Listen, tell the guys that the attack is postponed 'til at least three days' time."

The fox tensed up. "But General, your troops are getting impatient! You told them you would get them back to Lin'an. They wanna go home."

The figure raised its hand to massage his head.

"I know, I know… But the situation changed. Qiang somehow got the Jade Palace involved, _that_ Jade palace, and I'm not attacking any city with _those_ around."

The fox's jaw almost dislocated from how hard it hit the ground.

"T-the Jade Palace?! You mean, Master Tigress and-"

"Yes, those people."

"Are you sure, my General? Couldn't your eyes have faulted you?" the fox asked, his tail anxiously twitching behind him.

"Qiang arranged a tea party out of the blue, and _I was literally pouring_ the Dragon Warrior's serving. And yes, he really is a panda." The figure may have had the advantage of being concealed, but his stern eyes were clear as day.

The fox gulped. "A-all right. What will you say to your troops?"

"Oh, don't worry," for someone, whose shadow didn't even resemble a fox's, that vulpine grin was amazingly on point, " _His Majesty_ got into a little political chokehold while I was away, and he got the Masters to help him out. A tournament will be held in three days, and after that, the foxes will be ready to strike."

"We are taking _back_ Lin'an. Not even a Qiang-level tyrant could stop us."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Story Miscellaneous  
> #16:Since it is a recurring thing, here is an explanation of bird anatomy: Birds don't really have 'inversely bending knees', it's actually their ankle. Their knees is like a human knee, except that it's really small and close to the avian's body. Still, you cannot sit with an ankle-for-knees  
> #17:Another bird anatomy bit that I was questioned on: One of the people I usually share the drafts of my story pointed out that it sounds 'weird' when Qiang put their elbow on the table. Well, birds actually have elbow joints, thus they have an elbow to rest them on a table.  
> #18:This story considers KFP, KFP2, KFP3, the KFP Holiday Special, The Secrets of the Furious Five short film, and the Secrets of the Scroll short film as canon. 'Legends of Awesomeness' is semi-canon here, which means that the Author took inspirations from some episodes, but doesn't otherwise considers the series canon.  
> #18A:Main inspirations come from the episodes 'Mama told me not to Kung Fu'(S2E23), 'Crane on a Wire'(S2E19), 'Ladies of Shade'(S1E16) and 'Bride of Po'(S2E21).
> 
> Chapter 6 Miscellaneous  
> #1:After rewatching the first Kung Fu Panda, I noticed that at the dinner scene, where the Five complimented Po's skills of cooking, Crane wasn't actually sitting. He simply stood in front of his seat, which made sense, considering his inversely bending knees. Thus came the part with Crane asking for a seat. the Author likes continuity.  
> #2:Speaking of Continuity, the Author recognized the cranes and birds in general cannot 'raise an eyebrow', as they don't really have one. So as a substitution, the Author tries to use many other clues, such as 'raised an eye-lid' or 'tilted their head'.  
> #3:About Po's comment of 'never having a friend who had a dad alive'; It's true, nobody in the canon has any actual living dad confirmed. The closest was the elder Master Viper, but he was already kicking his last bits before Viper joined the Furious Five, and that was 20 years ago. Dude's dead.  
> #3A: Let's see; Tigress is an Orphan, Mantis's dad is confirmed dead (KFP2), Monkey's dad has never been mentioned, but it is highly probable that he disowned Monkey, Crane's father is dead according to the Legends of Awesomeness episode 'Mama told me not to Kung Fu' (Which the author decided to twist a bit in this story), Shifu and are already old, and Oogway is dead, so neither could have any possible parent alive.


	7. 1st Day: There Was Once a Crane...

Bao's morning went as usual.

He woke up at the dawn of the day, cleaned his feathers, got his magnificent, form-fitting robe on, took the Emperor's food, served his Majesty, chatted as Qiang ate the serving, _definitely_ not for the sake of passing time to escape consulting with the Eunuchs and visiting Lords. Then Qiang gave him the list of his duties and granted mercy by letting him go for the rest of the morning, which he spent scouting out buildings to incinerate.

Yeah, he was kind of a pyro. So what? A giddy bliss took control of his body every time he watched fire hug the walls and squeeze them until their foundations couldn't take it, while the disgustingly shallow colors of structures beautified in perfect orange light. Then came the epilogue, when the leftovers were nothing but smoking black ashes, and the white-naped crane _hated_ those with passion. In his eyes, ashes were the evidence that nothing in this world was pure, everything has the ability to burn down. For Bao, fire was the purifying essence, and he only respected people with true, unique fire in their eyes.

All thanks to Jia, actually.

_It was an accident really. Whatever his reputation would say, he didn't actually mean to trip the fellow colt. Yet he kinda did, so now he was stuck in an awkward clash of the eyes, his opponent looking at him with such an unexpected shock, he may as well have attempted to murder him. But he could have swore there was something else there, in those guarded depths…_

" _You okay?" Bao asked, helping the fellow up._

" _I-I'm peachy," the other crane said, his voice just as childishly high-pitched as Bao's was, maybe even higher, "I should have looked where I went."_

_He squinted at the weird fellow. People took greater offense in smaller accidents, so why wasn't this other child mad at him? And what's with those eyes…_

" _Where are you going?" Bao found himself saying, not caring that his mouth apparently worked on its own._

" _M-me? Well…" the smaller bird began, nervously fiddling with wings, "To the burial site. I have to talk to my sibling, I promised him I would."_

" _Is he…" Bao asked, trying to be careful with his words. He may have been a rascal, but even he was above disrespecting the dead._

" _Yeah, she's dead here. But Mama and Pa said that she is still alive, just in heaven," and the way his voice flattened into almost emotionless values totally didn't cut deep in Bao's heart._

" _Wait, she? Wasn't it a 'him' before?"_

" _Does it matter?"_

_Now Bao is all for challenges, physical or verbal, and this was one so blatant, he almost took offense in it. But he didn't, because of one reason; Those damn eyes. When the fellow spoke these three words, his voice lost all its fragile, shy coating and instead it covered itself in firm metal, hitting Bao with the force of a brute rhino. Whatever was going on in that small head must have been gigantic, the eyes being the mirror to the outside, and Bao got straight up lost in them. Those eyes, ignited by such passion that he almost fell over its orange beauty and warmth. He witnessed that smokeless burn leaving not a smidgen of ash behind, and the chance meeting didn't seem all that much of a time's waste anymore._

" _I like you," Bao began, smiling wickedly, "Let me walk you there."_

So yeah, regular day…

…not.

He had woken up much earlier than dawn, purple didn't even begin showing up on the eastern horizon. He did not just clean his feathers; He washed them until they were _ode-worthy_. Clad in the robe, he dutifully served his Majesty, but didn't chat; Why would he, when he had Jia and company to serve and talk with? He didn't even think about burning anything, the sight of Jia's face promised him more than enough warmth, and who knew? Maybe his friends were of the blazing kind too.

He knocked on the door three times, as customary. He would have preferred if Jia weren't up yet, waking him up would have put the searing cherry on top of his expectations. It had always been the most entertaining time to banter when Jia had had enough of Bao's antics. Sadly, his hopes were crushed when the door opened and his best friend stood there, sporting that fitting blue pants and stunning purple sash. Bao had to remind himself that _duh,_ Kung Fu Master, probably used to waking up in ungodly times.

"Hey there, Good-looking."

"Swell morning to you too," Crane said, his flat voice rolling out of his beak. Stepping to the side, he let his friend move in and closed the door afterwards.

"…And greetings Dragon Warrior," the white-naped crane eyed said panda, who was sitting on the bed, holding an erhu in his paws of all things.

"Oh, hi Bao. Wait, is that breakfast?" Po asked, wantonly gazing at the large tray of porcelain plates balanced on the newcomer's single wing.

"For your group of ragtag misfits. The price of one serving would be an explanation for what _._ Is. _That_?"

"Oh, this?" Po asked, looking back at the instrument with excitement, "It's Crane's erhu. He let me have a look at it and I think it's _so cool_. I mean, I'm technically holding Master Crane's legendary-to-be instrument, can you imagine the future stories? And I'm holding it _before_ it became a legendary weapon, I've never done that! I wonder how music sounds on this."

Crane sighed behind Bao. " _Soon_. I promised you I will, so don't worry about it."

"Can't be soon enough!"

Seeing that the conversation went way adrift, Bao easily handed over a plate to Po. The panda eagerly took the offering after putting the instrument onto the nearby table. He may have ended up slamming Crane's gem, a little too harshly at that, and Bao rolled his eyes at the subtle hiss his best friend let out.

_Pfft, Drama Queen._

"Aha. It _sure_ can't. So, Jia… are you as excited as me to hear three things that _will_ happen, and there is nothing you can do to make them unhappen?" he began with a jokingly condescending tone, and Crane had to raise an eye-lid at it, "One, we are so playing together _. I learnt how to swing, baby_! So you better ready your tail feathers for an epic night of mu _-_ si _-ca!_ "

"Don't talk about tail feathers man," Crane snorted, taking his own plate from the tray, "Yesterday was not funny."

Bao hummed, leaning close to his friend's face. His next words surprised both Crane and Po, particularly because the Emperor's Trustee actually _sang_ them. "Oh? For an artist, you sure as hell lack a sense of perspective. Because from mine it was hilarious."

Crane let his beak fall. Bao's voice perfectly and clearly hit every single level of the C major octave, and the ears of the avian Master _melted_.

"What are you guys talking about?" Po said mid-bite, gathering the attention of the avians.

"N-nothing worth noti-"

"Oyoyoy! Amazing, no, _excellent_ question!" Bao interrupted with a showmanish voice, and Crane's entire form dropped in a heavy, dejected sigh. "So yesterday at the table, I had the luck of making an acquaintance of just how _well_ those marvelous years of training built Jia's backside. I'm honestly jealous."

Po wrinkled his nose. "So… butts? That's pretty gross."

"We are not talking about this," Crane cut in firmly.

"Yes, we-"

"Can you _please,_ get to your second point?!" that rice hat tipped itself over his eyes, like it automatically knew what its owner desired.

The thoroughly entertained Bao cackled and rearranged the sideways skewing tray on his wings.

" _Prudish_ …" he drawled out the word and Crane's eyes flashed. Bao could swear that the temperature skyrocketed for a fragment of a second, and a painstakingly familiar suspicion tugged on the edge of his conscious.

_What are you hiding, my little Jia?_

"So anyway," he continued, "Two would be the part where you agree to when I say, that the next time you guys plan a sleepover, I better get an invitation or _grumpy_ me happens. You don't want that. "

Crane tilted his head. "And if I give you a bowl of fried rice with all the vegetables you love?"

"I'd marry you on the spot."

"So that's not gonna happen," the base of the avian Master's beak slightly curved at the heartbroken expression of his friend, "What's the third one?"

Anguish put aside, Bao closed his beak and looked at his best friend dumbly. "I… think I forgot. It had to do something with your dad allowing you to spar at the ground behind the palace. For the big day, y'know."

"O-oh, right?" and wasn't that weird how Crane's wings started flexing, occasionally unfolding just for it to go back? A nervous response that one, but… actually why?

"Sparring? Perfect! _"_ Po piped up, standing up from the bed with an empty plate, "Let's go there today Crane. For… _you know why_."

Bao would have liked to know too, thank you very much.

"Imma serve the rest of you in the meantime. Meet you there?" the Emperor's trustee asked, looking back at Crane with a smirk that told the world 'I own you!', while under his breath it whispered 'I hope you agree…'.

But Crane shushed those whispers with two nods, and on his face swimming in the previously established apprehension a genuine, _fiery_ grin made way. For twenty years, Bao was desperately searching for something akin to replace that grin, one which always sent blissful scorching shock-waves through his chest, filling him with gentle, white freshness. Life had thrown problems at him time and time again, but that damned grin _burnt it all away_. Somebody acted like a total douche? No problem, him and Jia would set something on fire. He would howl his borderline insane laugh while Jia just _grinned_ , and Bao's malleable soul flew free as ever.

How did he survive the last few years again?

"Oh, and don't forget to wear the robe inside the palace. Them's the rules," he noted, cherishing the groan of suffering he got as a reply.

So with high spirits and a tray of five breakfasts, he left the room. With a little hop in his long steps, he walked down the hall towards the rest of the Masters' residence. From what he had seen, these fellas cared about his best friend, which gave some good points to them. The panda seemed more than all right, Bao's kinda person. The monkey and the bug looked okay too, goofy bunch is something he could empathize very much. The snake acted shy, but sweet, best friend material for sure. Even the red panda had this wise aura around him, definitely not something you could find among the Eunuchs.

The tiger on the other hand…

He didn't even knock, her door unlocked (thank god it was opening inward) and Miss Grumpyness herself stood there, trying to look menacing. Boy, was she failing. Nevertheless, Bao smiled politely and bowed, as per customs.

"Good morning, Master Tigress."

"Yesterday's destruction was quite a show."

Bao straightened out, blinking at the Master.

"I beg your pardon?"

"I wonder where the guards were," she said with such a fireless face, Bao wanted to scream. How can someone be _such a poser?_

"On vacation, taking a pilgrimage to Tibet. I heard they wanted to meet with the ghost of a dude named Siddhartha Gautama. I don't know, nor do I care."

It was like a tick appeared on her forehead, and boy oh boy, did she not appreciate Jia humor.

"I hope you didn't forget that calling his Majesty the Emperor 'my boss' or his name are the highest form of discourtesy, no matter your relationship to him. As the Right-Hand man, you should know that more than any of us."

Wait, she was _lecturing_ him?

"Quite," was Bao's only response. He didn't have many problems setting his face flat, giving her the most bored expression one could muster. To her credit though, she kept somewhat calm.

"You are very disrespectful, even for an underprivileged simpleton."

_An underprivileged what!?_

The tray shook with the avian's body while he desperately tried to suffocate the booming laugh that wanted to claw its way out of him. He didn't miss how she straightened out, her face tensing up, and it just made it all the harder not to topple over in a swarm of chuckles. Good, she was actually _offended_.

"I-I'm sorry, I just have to ask somethin - Hey Jia!" he gleefully shouted down the hall, to where his friend's room was, "You forgot to mention the bland amateur you brought with you!"

The tiger looked like someone marched up to her and pulled her ears.

"The bland - what did you just call me?"

"The bland amateur. Because, let me tell you, I needed to hear four sentences out of your mouth and I already know your entire sappy life story," Bao said, and he relished how his not-so enjoyable conversation partner bristled, "That's a big yikes from me."

"You know nothing about me," Tigress bit out, and her paws clenched into a fist.

"I don't? Well, I'll let you be the judge of that," he said, cleaning his throat, "Let's see...Little Kitty was orphaned at young, had no friends because of her brutal strength and abysmal social skills. Her insecurities built up over time, giving her nightmares and tantrums of _sorrow_. She wanted to desperately find someone, anyone who would look past her brutality, and become her friend. But in reality; She just wanted someone, something she could hide behind, something she could use to forget her own problems. Then one day came this old Kung Fu Master and gave her a chance of redemption. She took it and lived the rest of her life, hiding behind the teaches of 'The Way', excusing flaws and problems of hers with ranks, skill and traditions. But under the surface, she is still that little kitten, wanting to have a normal life where she doesn't have to hide herself and belittle others for the sake of her own good. How's that for an underprivileged simpleton?"

Okay, so Bao may have underestimated her. Those eyes may have held no fire, but her soul certainly did, clear by the anger _radiating_ from her body. She looked ready to pounce actually, and Bao did definitely _not_ have a sudden urge to run. His feathers also weren't about to puff out at the possibly lethal predator in front of him, who was more than just mad. Her silence was something Bao could not decide whether it was a blessing or a curse, so he did what he always did when there was a chance that angry people would choke him to death on the spot.

Talking.

"Y-you scaring me doesn't lessen my truth. And did you know that I don't care about traditions? Yeah, that's a thing. Just lines of text that people made to hide behind them, like you do. Tools to excuse their own bigotry and weaknesses. For me, you could be the god of the living realm, I'd still talk you down if you are a douchebag. You disrespect me, I disrespect you. You are nice to me, I am nice to you. Goodbye, Little Kitten."

And with that, Bao put her food onto the ground and turned to continue his duty of serving the Masters without as much as a glance at Tigress. Right in the next moment, Crane's door opened with a creak, revealing both him and Po's wide eyes locked onto the female tiger.

"I got Tigress, you talk to Bao," the panda said, to which Crane frantically nodded.

"Sounds good."

Slow movements put aside, Crane flew down the corridor, not caring about the scars he was causing on the walls. Meanwhile, Po silently trotted up to Tigress hoping to console her. Realizing that in the last few days, he did not magically get skills for this whole 'consoling' stuff, he opted to copy his friend; Watching the plate on the ground, just without the murderous eyes.

"Hey?" he cautiously asked with an awkward glance at her.

The tiger finally exhaled, the tension escaping her body.

"If it weren't for Crane…" she whispered.

Suddenly she was crouching and moving. Po could barely catch her movements, and the next thing he realized was her door closing, the tiger or the breakfast nowhere in sight.

He shook his head. "Oh man…"

Meanwhile, Crane finally caught up to Bao in front of Viper's room, the white-naped crane acting wholly unbothered.

"Sorry, my schedule is a little tight these days. I cannot accept you gracious offer to a date. _Yet._ "

"You do know you just signed your death-wish?" he asked, ignoring the antics.

"Do I know that I made your friend throw a silent hissy fit and increased my chance of being mauled into a pillow? Yes, yes I do. Do I particularly care? No, I pretty sure I don't," he said nonchalantly, even giving his friend a cheeky smile.

"Because of your rank?"

"Of course. Otherwise you'd find me running to join on that pilgrimage." Bao said, his smile melting off right after, "For real though, I am not taking back what I said and she looks smart enough to know it. At least I hope."

Crane massaged his face with both his wings, his beak poking out between them. "All right. Just please, find a way to get on her good side again, or at least don't cause any more tension, okay?"

Bao scoffed and was about to throw a snarky remark back, but then he actually looked at his friend's face. A flat-lined beak, intense eyes that almost begged him to comply, and it really touched some hidden sane part of Bao's conscience. It even managed to hold him back.

_Oh, it's actually important to him_.

"Fine," he conceded, rolling his eyes, "I'll play nice to her. But if things get out of hand, don't blame me. I was trying, _she_ wasn't."

Giving up his standpoint ceased being a nuisance when Crane visibly relaxed, and gave him a small, delighted smile that made the white-naped bird's chest blossom with warmth.

"Thank you."

It was worth it.

"You owe me several though."

" _Ughhh_."

_So worth it._

* * *

The so-called 'sparring ground' was not a hard place to find, which did not mean it was any much less of a surprise. The Palace building had a corridor leading up to a tall gate at the opposing side to the main entrance, usually open at daytime and closed whenever night arrived. Stepping through the gate, you would find your feet standing on a wooden pathway leading to a garden of sorts. Periodically put grand marble rods surrounded the garden, connected by a row of wooden fence at ground level and lazily hanging crimson red tape with Peony flowers pinned onto at the top. The garden had its own fair share of pink Cherry Blossom, orange Gingko and perfect white Dove trees, short, well-cared grass and the most beautiful species of flowers found in East Asia living in-between them. The garden even had a quaint river circulating inside, its sluggish, clean stream embellished by several lily pads and petals. The wooden pathway actually crossed this small river, and a short, humpy bridge allowed dry travel to the other side. The trail after the bridge divided into two, then curved on their own until they met at the other side of the garden, forming a wide circle. Along this, white benches stood in the shadow of trees, giving opportunity for the Eunuchs, Lords and even his Majesty to relax and marvel in the wonders of nature.

The ring for the fights were in the middle, hidden by the gentle plant-life from all sides. There, the flat ground was of a dark-brown dirt surface that had even the grass weeded out, and two thick-bodied Cherry Blossom tree stood proud in the two sides of the ring. These trees differed from their thinner counterparts; Their pink, bushy crowns hid entire obstacle courses, wooden platforms, metal spikes, etcetera.

"Ow! _Argh!_ "

Worth to be mentioned; The sparring ground was currently occupied.

"Monkey, you are sloppy."

"That's the nicest thing you've said today."

He did not get an answer.

The simian Master regained his footing and readied his Bo staff again. His opponent flexed her claws and went on the offensive. Monkey defended strikes from the left, strikes from above, left again, right and straight from ahead, never gaining a single opportunity to counter-attack. Monkey style was supposed to have an equal ground against tiger style, but you wouldn't figure this upon watching this fight. The tiger's hits and slashes were ferocious, Monkey's staff was shaking with every hit it blocked.

Clenching his teeth, Monkey knew what he had to do; Since this 'casual spar' had turned into an all out aggressive anger deducing therapy, he might as well join. He jumped back onto the bark of the southern blossom tree, the tiger hot on his tail, and they made eye contact. She didn't waste a single blink to spin into a roundhouse kick, but much to her chagrin it was violently slapped back by the now vertically spinning Bo staff in her face. She couldn't attack anymore, the staff was basically invisible to the eye with its speed, and it made getting through impossible. Monkey jumped forward from the tree, Tigress backing up at the sudden increase from the wind generated by the spinning weapon.

Out of nowhere, a fist hit her knee, and she snapped her attention to her now crooked legs. She needed a single flying moment to realize what Monkey was doing; With Chi-infused hands, he hit through the spin, somehow managing the speed and the space to not only hit her, but to retract his own hand before the other part of the staff passed through. He did it with his other arm, both his legs, and even a combination of them, never had she seen such speed from simian before. She recognized the desperate need to defend, and it made her blood violently boil in her veins.

She was about to hold her hands up to defend her face, but then things went… awry.

"God- _damnit._ "

She watched with a steely eyed look as Monkey somehow tangled himself over the Bo staff, the chi blinking away on his empowered hands. Soon enough the staff gave up on its host and airily bounced up from the ground, disappearing in the rustling crown of the tree. She followed the trajectory of her opponent's weapon, and when it was no longer visible, she looked back at the dusty simian. Following his incident, Monkey was left laying on all fours, punching the ground with half his might, his face confronting into the panting grimace of utter desperation.

"Enough."

Shifu's stern voice made any thoughts of exploiting his moment of weakness dissipate for her. Tigress walked over to the edge of the ring where the red panda stood and bowed deeply, her friend sluggishly standing up and mirroring the action.

"It may seem that today is the time of discord for the Furious Five," Shifu began, sending a harsh glare to Viper and Mantis at his side, "Tigress."

"Yes, Shifu?"

"Am I right to assume that you forwent your words and confronted Bao Luo by yourself?"

The tiger Master thinned his lips, but didn't disconnect the eye contact.

"Yes."

"It didn't go well?"

"He gave her a lecture of a lifetime," Mantis piped up from next to the red panda, and Tigress' wince was barely noticeable.

"It has been clouding my mind and judgement. I apologize."

Shifu scrutinized the tiger's passive yet tense face, her fur standing up wherever the red panda's eye landed. An old sigh reached her sensitive ears soon.

"I was afraid this time would come," he said, relaxing his posture, "Your apologies should be aimed at Monkey. Don't let it happen again, all right?"

With a nod, Tigress and Monkey turned to each other and gave the customary parting bow, before exchanging places with Mantis and Viper. She sat down cross-legged, folding her paws under her chin, and watched her friends ready themselves for the fight. They took up their starting stances, and Mantis attacked first, the sound of his titular battle cry making some branches of the northern tree swing. Viper welcomed it with her own menacing hiss and the spar (because _that_ was a normal spar) was on.

The noise of paper sliding over paper captured her attention, and she glanced to her side, where she saw Monkey sitting cross-legged too, fiddling with a familiar scroll of some sorts. She remembered that piece of read, his nose had been basically glued to it throughout the whole journey, but she never really asked what it entailed. Now though, she saw the desperate, heart-broken frown with that anxious chewing of the lips, and she couldn't deny that she got a _little_ curious.

"What's on the scroll?"

Monkey spasmed at the unexpected voice, but relaxed when he recognized who it belonged to.

"Oh, just an old technique that I am… _supposed_ to be ready to learn," he replied, his fingers loosening on the paper, "Shifu gave it to me, saying that Po thought It was time for this."

Tigress raised an eyebrow. So the scroll contained instructions to a new technique? Fascinating. She was certainly about to find out, as Monkey, noticing her wondering eyes, willingly slid it over to her. Taking hold of one side, she began to scan the paper and _yep_ ; it really was a Grandmaster-level technique, Monkey style. Weapon's Master Class too, which made Tigress bob her head approvingly. Then she began reading the instructions.

"Take a well-balanced weapon, be it long, as long as your upper body. Channel Chi to your limbs and use your thumb, ring-finger, index finger to spin," She read out loud, mimicking the instructions on her own hand, "Concentrate on the weapon's touch and exchange Chi with it. It will be your loyal shield for as long as your flow is consistently fed to it. Once constant, you may use your already established foreknowledge of the Monkey way of fighting… Huh."

"Yeah, it's way harder than it looks, the constant flow is a nightmare to keep up, but _oh well_ …" Monkey sighed before flopping back, resting his head on his folded arms, "I suppose I was just not made for weapon handling."

His voice was so disregarding, so dejected, Tigress felt herself wince in sympathy.

"You cannot give up now-"

"Watch me. The way I see it, I could continue trying to beat the dead horse and only have a chance of making this work by the fights, _or_ keep on doing what I have been doing for most of my life and guarantee at least not humiliating myself," Monkey said lazily, his eyes tracking the movement of passing clouds.

"And your staff?" She asked, remembering that it was still stuck in that Cherry Blossom.

Her only answer was a careless shrug.

Tigress didn't have a counterargument to that, so she simply let the opened scroll roll to the space between the two of them, and refocused on the spar. She began her usual analysation of fights, making notes of unique moves and glancing hits from both Viper and Mantis. She was the kind of gal who liked to know and measure how an event went down before it even happened, assessing his teammates' current form and then comparing how they would fare against their picked opponents was something she always did.

She was about to make her first notes too, when Viper's tail whipped forward, hitting the x-shape Mantis formed with his forelegs. He defended against the strike, but it still blew away his lithe body with its force, and he landed at a distance of a meter or so. The insect didn't let Viper use this chance to barrage him with more strikes; He was already jumping high, his small legs stretched out to kick. The speed he used was incredible as always and Tigress would be lying if she said she had never envied the speed that sheer lightness gave him. Thanks to her snake body though, Viper herself dodged rather easily and Mantis' legs left legit cracks on the ground. The snake Master hissed and tried to encircle the smallest Master with her body. Tigress narrowed her eyes; A mistake. From his wide pose, Mantis could have easily gathered enough momentum to smack the snake's side, breaking her concentration and any kind of grasp she had on him. One reason Mantis style was superior to Viper style was that the latter utilized the disadvantages of bigger opponents, curling around them and making them their own worst enemy. Mantis style was problematic because it relied on pure speed and force, nothing fancy, making the quirk of Viper style useless. Master Mantis was also better than Master Viper in the sense that he was extraordinarily _small,_ there was nothing to curl around and utilize. Tigress expected Mantis to know this and punish to her surprise, it didn't happen.

Mantis _hesitated_.

The snake's body closed on him, and he was helpless on her grasp. The insect tried to struggle his way out, but once Viper gets you, you are done for.

"Point Viper. Great speed from her side, rookie mistake from Mantis," Shifu said from her side, and she witnessed the snake gently letting her friend out of her grasp. Monkey laughed at the way the losing Master stomped back to northern Cherry Blossom, and Tigress recognized his expression; The red panda's words hit Mantis right in his pride.

"What happened?" she heard Viper ask.

"Please Vi, stop talking."

_Huh?_

"Go," Shifu uttered, and the two Masters were at it again. Tigress had an annoying feeling that something was wrong, or at least about to turn wrong. Mantis's amber eyes had the usual crazed glint, one that came from his stubbornness to keep his pride intact and to 'show them all'. That much she was accustomed to, but something was still different from the way he held himself, or the way his panting looked more like a side effect of _seething_.

Nevertheless, Viper shook off the surprise of the harsh words and attacked first, once again using her own body as an elastic whip. The script suddenly changed when instead of defending, Mantis' bare forelegs stopped the strike raw. Tigress watched as the bug, still keeping a firm hold on the snake's tail, effortlessly threw her over his tiny shoulders. The air from Viper's lungs escaped upon impact with the ground, but Mantis didn't let her recover. Using the fact that she was preoccupied with steadying her breath, he began rotating Viper above his head, the breathless Master struggling to go against the building up energy of her sudden spinning.

"Did somebody order breakfaaast?!" he shouted his signature gloating before every victory and slammed her down to the ground.

No one expected the resounding _crack_ from her body.

Monkey's upper torso snapped upwards. "What the hell?!"

Tigress was very quickly on her feet, not wasting time to dash to the writhing Viper's help. Mantis just stood there, frozen in his throwing stance, looking at what he had done with wide, glintless eyes. He stood there like this until the tiger Master slapped him away, maybe a little roughly, and for once Mantis didn't go off at being handled like this. He was too busy hugging his forelegs to his small chest, fiddling with them while watching the scene as the Tigress and Monkey both tried to soothe their hurt friend.

"That doesn't look good at all," said a voice from the still Shifu's side, and soon the richness of the Emperor's golden robe filled the right side of the red panda's vision, "Poor girl. I don't think that tail should curve that way."

"No, it should not," Shifu sighed, smoothing his shaky fingers over the middle of Oogway's old staff.

"Would this setback propose a problem?" Qiang asked, and Shifu finally looked up at his Majesty. Slack-faced sadness is what met him, one that left a sour taste in anyone's mouth just by looking at it.

"That depends. My ex-students have much in the art of resolve."

Qiang kept silent, tracking the scene. The red panda couldn't help but watch as his feathers on his nape puffed up noticeably and those folded wings trembled a little while doing so.

"You act wholly unconcerned of something that could jeopardize our chances. Am I right to assume you know something valuable?"

_That's a weird way of spelling 'reassuring'_

Shifu gave a sad smile. "Oogway told that the biggest strength and weakness of every Furious Five would be their bond, and he warned of an inevitable fallout."

"Not… the answer I was expecting, but good to know that there are internal problems too." His Majesty said sourly, "But I do remember you in the last generation, Master Red Panda. It was a grand fallout, heard by people in the farest corners of China."

"A grand fallout indeed. It is bound to happen to every group of people with a clash of personalities as big as mine was or this one is, but we get over it. The current generation managed to delay it for twenty years though, and that itself is notable."

"Yet it still happened at a time of need." Qiang sighed sharply, turning to his conversation partner, "And then there is the injury… let's hope for the best then. Nevertheless, It has come to my attention that my plea for help came at a convenient time, you actually desire visits to my library?"

As the healers have finally arrived, the three Masters taking a step back for them to work, Shifu hummed thoughtfully.

"Yes, it is the case."

"Is there a particular reason? I mean, I'll allow it, but you cannot fault a man for his curiosity."

Now Shifu knew he had two choices. Either be honest and tell the Emperor of everything that has happened, including his son's accident, or be cryptic and leave out mentioning Elemental Chi and Crane altogether. Considering that apparently his students, especially the Master in question, were in agreement to hide it all away, Shifu would play along.

Even if he knew that hiding it was a doomed cause from the beginning.

"The Jade Palace had gotten a brand new artifact recently, but the Thousand Scrolls of Kung Fu had nothing of it besides some vague notes from Master Oogway. We hoped that if a place contained anything on the artifact, it was your Highness' library," the red panda said, fully facing Qiang now.

"A logical step. In that case, let me be your entourage then."

And with that, both Shifu and Qiang began strolling away from the gruesome scene. In the meantime, the healers and the rest of her friends calmed Viper down, even if her tail was still bent in an unnatural, grotesque way. The two elder walked in silence as they left the fighting ring and arrived on the curving wooden pathway. Shifu took a deep breath, sucking in not only the fresh and luscious air of the garden, but the serene aura of his surroundings. In the background, the plant-life rustled with a small incoming gust of wind, some orange leaves of a nearby Gingko tree left their branches and swayed down to the grass. The only other sounds were the Emperor's blunt claws periodically hitting the path with every step, the red panda's shuffling accompanying it.

Shifu himself was humming an old song, wondering how long it would take for his Majesty to get over his inhibitions and finally say what has been so obviously eating him. He really started to wonder just what exactly did Crane inherit from his mother, as so far, it was like interacting with an older version of his student.

"Master Shifu."

_Finally._

"I would like to use this chance to say thank you from the depths my heart," Qiang said, stopping near the humpy bridge of his garden and turning to the Master in question, "For training my son and helping him on his road to become a man he always wanted to be."

Then he, _His Majesty the Emperor,_ honest-to-god bowed before him. Did not just tip his head, it was a full body bow with the avian's long neck turning downwards the ground and all. Shifu needed all his years of training and then some to not just freeze in place. He sure felt some of his fur go grey at the moment though.

"I was merely a guide. It was him who achieved everything in the end."

"I still wish to show you my gratitude whilst you stay with the best hospitality Lin'an can offer, even in times like this. The healers will give Master Viper the best treatment medicine can offer, and the servants will heed every wish of the Jade Palace, I will make sure of it," Qiang continued, straightening out to show his twinkling, smiling eyes, and his beak wobbled at its base with restrained raw tension,

"I… thank you, your Highness."

Qiang nodded, and they resumed walking towards the Palace. Arriving at the first few steps of the little bridge, his Majesty spoke again.

"Don't know if you ever had children, but if so… you don't need me to tell you how I felt yesterday, seeing what Jia had become."

Pictures of young Tai Lung flashed through Shifu's memory, when all was right and all was happy.

"I do know, actually."

Qiang sent him a joyous side-glance, and his wings went up to rub his puffed out chest. A lone leaf of a Cherry Blossom landed on his rich attire, and he let it rest there.

"Proud, very much proud. There was a time when I helped my darling put all these blankets and pillows on the edges of our furniture, just so Jia wouldn't hurt himself accidentally. Then he grew up, and I let him go, to chase his dreams and ambitions, hoping that one day he would reach them. You can imagine how I let my hopes fly the moment I heard about a new Furious Five forming, Master Crane among them. And yesterday…"

The Emperor's slow, automatic steps stopped at the highest point of the bridge, and Shifu waited with halted breath for the next words.

"He showed me. He showed me that even with a fragile body like mine, he could find a way to become a hero. He showed his old man _good_."

* * *

A kilometer away, hidden among the windy peaks of the mountains to the north, there was a little secluded glade. The glade was at the meeting of three mountains' massive bodies, surrounding it from almost all sides except one, that side having an open sight to Lin'an's breathtaking entirety. On the glade, a much slower fight was taking place there. Feathered appendages blocked slow-moving, pudgy arms that didn't even shake by the gentle clash. Actually, the word 'spar' was stretching it; It was more like a badly made shadow puppet show.

"I still don't understand, why are we training on your family's old camping site? Why can't we train with the others?" the thicker Master asked, the metal elbow pads glinting in the sun's light as he caught a slow moving thin leg from the side.

"You know exactly why," the frailer Master replied, and as a demonstration he swiftly spread out both his wings, pointing at two mountains. It sent out a thin gust of wind that grew exponentially while it raced towards the rocky surfaces, and impacted with a high-pitched whistle, jolting any plant that survived at this altitude. It left two deep gashes on the mountains, and the removed rocks swung in their new dusty form around the place of impact.

"Oh. _Right_ ," Po said, a little disheveled from the excess wind, "Still, I wish we trained in the Emperor's palace. It would be so cool, a once in a lifetime opportunity!"

"To destroy China from the core, that's for sure." Crane flatly replied, crouching down to execute a slow version of a sweep. Po easily jumped over it and tumbled to the side, then regained his stance with an exasperated _'watcha!_ '

"Yeah that wouldn't be fun. All right, let's quicken this up a bit but not _too_ much. We don't really have any water around if you got all phoenix-y again," the panda said and his lazy punches gained speed.

"Just don't taunt," Crane didn't need much time to copy the pace, but he almost faltered when breeze exploded from the collision of their bodies. Things turned weird after that; Every part of him, from talons to hat, lost half its weight. His strikes, spins, kicks, jumps, everything felt like the catalyst for some inadvertent floating, and the simple fact that he was weightless _while_ on the ground made him grimace.

That cursed song was very close to blasting in his ear…

"How does it feel?" Po asked, and Crane finally noticed the worried frown that found a temporary home on his friend's face.

"Un-" he had to gulp here, "Unnatural."

Po had been on the defensive before, letting his friend experience quicker hits to the fullest, but now he decided to rebalance the scale and attack.

"How about a distraction, huh? Like, tell me the first most important part of being a Chosen One," Po said, aiming his punch at the body of the bird.

"The most important part of _what?_ " Crane asked, blocking the punch and shoving the panda back at once.

"You know which one…" Po tried to do subtle nods and even awkwardly gesticulate with his hands, but didn't stop his next onslaught, "The one with the battle and stuff? Remember?"

Crane's head reared back, and he sidestepped the panda's body, his eyes tracking the body as it fell. "Erm, no I don't? You've… never told me anything like this."

Po met the ground with a thud and held up an arm. "I didn't?"

While grasping his friend and helping him stand up, Crane's bewildered expression froze on his face, shaking his head in a profound ' _no'_ when they made eye contact.

"Wait…" Po's gaze found the ground, before his eyes widened and he took a step back, "I didn't! Oh man, that is so bad, how will you know how to act when the time comes?! Okay, okay, it can be fixed, it _can_. Sparring is over for the time being, we have crucial stuff to discuss. Take a seat."

Po merrily flopped down to the scarce grassy ground. When he looked back at Crane to see if his friend was ready for _the most amazing lesson every lessoned_ , he saw his own confusion rise to and stay standstill, just like the avian Master was doing at the moment.

"Crane?"

His only response was his friend raising one of his legs for show, while looking gradually more questioning.

Po smacked himself. Right, ankles for knees.

"Okay then. No problem, we'll stand!" he said, rising back up with a jump, "It's all right, we needed to stand up either way."

" _Right…_ " Crane echoed, his chest bouncing with short giggles.

"So. Here's the most-most-most important question; Do you know how a Chosen One acts?"

Crane looked down and frowned. He searched up his memory for Po's known behavior since he skadooshed Tai Lung off the face of the earth and tried to find frequent patterns there.

"You… interact with your fans?"

"Yes that too, but that's not important," to this, Crane couldn't help but blink at Po.

"You have a morning routine of running through the city, high-fiving people left and right while they cheer, and that's just to get breakfast. _Every day._ "

"That's- that's more like a 'me' thing, all right?"

"And how would I know what's a 'you' thing then?"

"Exactly! That's why it's necessary to teach you. As a Chosen One-"

"I didn't know I was one to begin with, but oh well."

"- _you will need to_ act like how people expect you to act. Are you ready to learn?"

The panda was rubbing his hands together, while giving this excited puppy look to him. If Crane ever had a weak point (besides his legs), it was Po's infectious and lovable enthusiasm. It was mesmerizing how it could turn heated situations into good-hearted jokernights, the peacekeeping factor was an added bonus. Also, seeing it connected to something that wasn't objectively Kung Fu or food was a refreshing sight too.

"For the record, that was the absolute worst quality of life advice I have ever had the misfortune of hearing," Crane said pointedly, but then he rolled his shoulders and sighed, "And will this lesson help me gain control?"

Po looked at him questioningly. „I mean, not really, but it's still very important. Trust me, _quality of life_ knowledge."

Crane couldn't stop his posture from dropping. Hearing how this day wouldn't be the one this nightmare ends at was pretty disheartening to him, but alas, he was the student and Po was the teacher, so he must know what to do. Right?

"I-I'll bite then," Crane said while hesitantly nodding, "If it's that important,"

"Great! So you will be the bad guy."

"I'll be a _what_?" Crane didn't get an answer, because Po was suddenly shoving and pushing him backwards. He tried to struggle at first, but the panda's hold was firm on him. Glancing behind, the avian saw the rapid nearing of the glade's edge and he gulped when his hometown was the only thing he could see when looking down.

They were too immersed in the current flow of the situation to notice that the yellow pools of Crane shone up, and the sides of Po's metallic elbow pads trembled, like they were liquid.

"What-"

"Also, can you act like that little grass over there is your evil army? We don't really have anything like that, so we have to wing it," Po asked, subtly motioning to a patch of teal grass some meters to their right.

"You have-"

"Okay, thanks, don't forget to fly!" with a final nudge, he threw Crane off the mountain.

"-GREAT COMMUNICATION SKILLS!"

His shout was louder than the grumble of rock hitting rock, but even that was barely audible from the already wild wind going haywire. Crane only spared a menial thought that it was just the stones that his talons dragged off when his balance was finally tipped over. He hastily spread his wings and readied to take flight, but it came to him as a complete surprise when instead of continuous free-falling, the ground arrived within seconds. The impact forced the air right out of him, and his vision blurred from the incoming tears, but he was otherwise intact. Groaning from the pain pulsating from his back, he sat up bit by bit while leaning onto his wings.

Thanks to all this, he overlooked the near whistle of something gliding.

He looked around himself and knew that something was amiss; Above him was the ledge of the glade he had been just pushed off, that much he expected, but the basin-like earth formation surrounding him _definitely wasn't here when they flew here this morning._ Crane tilted his head and smoothed a wing over the stone under him. Much to his astonishment, the surface felt unbelievably smooth and familiar for some reason, like he was touching a finished painting of his. His veins prickled with a warm buzz inside his wing, and 'Siren', as he decided to dub the voice, began her usual round of notes.

Frightened, he jumped to his feet and backed up until the mountainside let him. Understatement to say that he didn't need much time to puzzle together how that basin came to be. The wind's deafening howl couldn't outmatch the echoing sound of his frantic panting.

„This is just a nightmare. Yeah, a very long, _very realistic_ nightmare-"

"You can attack now!"

Po's shout helped him escape whatever trance he was in, and the wind quieted.

"C-coming!" he shouted back, finally taking his eyes off from the new addition to the mountain.

"Don't forget to stand behind your troops! 'Cause y'know, it wouldn't be the same."

Mightily flapping his wings, he finally raised himself to the air and flew until he passed the ledge. He found the glade empty, except for his crimson cotton robe that he had sandwiched between two rocks (there was no way he would train wearing _that)_. But otherwise Po was nowhere to be seen, yet Crane didn't fret; the triangle combination of small bushes on the side was suspiciously lumpy.

_Am I supposed to say something, or…?_

Knowing Po's antics, and the fact that he still were in hiding, the answer was a resounding 'yes'.

"Erm, so," He began, clearing his throat, "I'm just an ordinary bad guy- no wait I'm evil, I think. Whatever -and I attack this valley for… whatever reason, probably greed? I mean, yes, greed! None shall oppose my… mighty might and army and… anything bad guys like me have!"

He would make a horrible villain.

From the bushes, a round rock flew out to the air, landing on the patch of grass in front of him.

_So, if the grass is my army… is it gone now? Which means… I'm infuriated?_

"Who dares?" he said in his average voice, which he quickly tried to amend, "I mean, _who dares?!_ "

That's when Po jumped out of the bushes.

"My fist and feet hungers for a fight with the enemies of justice! My identity you won't get, you will only know who I am after the dust has been bitten."

_Surprisingly poetic of him. Shame it didn't rhyme._

"By you, of course. Definitely not from me. _"_

_Nevermind poetic._

Crane watched as Po hooked his stubby feet under yet another rock and balanced it on his toes.

"Here's the first serving!"

The rock suffered the same faith as the other one. Crane watched it pathetically flop onto the teal, dewy grass and he tongued the inside of his beak in thought.

"Did you get it?" Po asked with great enthusiasm, unmoving in his kicking pose.

"You mean back pains? Yeah sure, got plenty of them."

"What? No!" Po began, exiting the pose and motioning to the three bushes, "I mean what I just showed you. What was it?"

Crane tilted his head and hummed. "Dramatic?"

He meant it as a snarky comment, he did not expect Po to brighten up.

"Yes! Dramatic, but what was the _action_? What do you call it?"

Crane tilted his head sideways and scowled, sniffing in thought.

"You… entered the battle against a bad guy?" he guessed out loud.

"Another word for 'entering battle' is… what?" the panda shook in barely restrained overzealousness as he encouraged his friend.

"En…" Crane said, drawling out the word while watching Po's face if his hunch was right.

Po was nodding frantically, a wide smile splitting his face.

"…trance? Entrance?" then a sudden memory moved through his mind, "Wait a minute…"

"Yes?"

"Dramatic… Was it a Dramatic Entrance?"

"Exactly!" Po cheered loudly.

"And that's something a 'Chosen One' is supposed to know?" Crane asked, his own smile wide on his beak. His body may have felt unnaturally weightless, thus the reason why Po could so easily push him around, but the lightness in his chest was different; It was warm and filling. It was welcome.

"Yeah, it's all about the Dramatic Entrance. You can head into a battle like _wshhh_ , be quick and be forgotten, or you can leave an _impact._ Get it now? Shock them, tease them, catchphrase. Easy as can be."

Crane happily nodded along, yet his face showed uncertainty of this new knowledge.

Out of the blue, they heard the whizzing of something cutting through the air. Crane only had time to turn and catch a glimpse of the mere rock coming his way, before the ground under his feet rumbled, and _a pillar of earth emerged_ , blocking the projectile and making it flop next to the two other stones in the grass patch.

"Phenomenal! Such a good read."

The hauntingly familiar voice came from below the edge. Po and Crane shared an anxious glance, and even if the panda was too busy blinking at the newly formed pillar, they both hurried to the ledge. Looking down, they saw none other than Bao, in plain, commoner attire, comfortably cuddled into the Chi-made basin that Crane almost forgot about. What was even weirder that the white-naped crane had his beak buried in a scroll with a golden case held in both wings.

"B-Bao?" Crane hesitantly asked, and the mischievous light-blue depths looked up at him.

"Oh, hi Jia and… Po, was it?" he even had the guts to wave at them, which the panda awkwardly returned, "Don't mind me, I'm just here for some peace, y'know. It's kind of hard to read in the Palace's noise, especially after finding this gripping scroll about this thing called 'Elemental Chi' or something. Curse you Jia for never telling me that reading can be _so fun_."

"W-why are you reading that?" Crane asked, already dreading not only the answer but this entire day.

"Well, your wrinkly red raccoon asked for it, which was weird because I could _swear_ he asked about some boring vase before, but whatever," Bao said with such an exaggerated, playful tone, "Pointed him in another direction, then decided to see what would make such an honest and honorable man lie… and I have to say, Master Shifu _knows_ how to pick the most thrilling read. It even made _me_ interested! Jolly good show!"

Crane's feathers were standing on edge, and after sparing a glance at Po and seeing him chew his lips, he realized he wasn't alone in his concern. Both watched Bao hop onto his feet and fly up to the glade while scanning the contents of the scroll the whole way, the panda spoke up.

"Chi? W-what Chi? Never heard of her. But it sounds crazy, maybe Shifu is into fairy tales now. He's kinda old, y'know, gotta keep the imagination going, right?" Po mumbled, fumbling with his fingers behind himself.

" _Man_ , I wish I could get some of this Chi thing," Bao ignored the Dragon Warrior's words, and strutted over to the newly formed pillar, "Did you guys know that it has a soul or something? The description is pretty mysterious and vague, but what I gathered is that it has a will on its own, and usually responds to its host's feelings. I would be angry all the time if it made me wield fire at will!"

For the first time in this week, Crane was happy he had the chi.

"Then we have water with sadness, tree with joy, it even reacts to fear with wind. Wow, it's not even an element!" he continued, and Crane gulped at the pointed look sent his way, "The most interesting is that metal and earth doesn't react to feelings, they are more combat-oriented. Hm, _me likey_. Let's see, we have metal helping in the offensive, and…"

Then he lazily leaned on the pillar of stone, smirking the whole way.

"…earth in defense."

Crane sighed, his body dropping with it.

_He knows_.

"I would totally go rampant with it. Can you even imagine _hiding_ it? Blasphemous!" Bao exclaimed. Then he closed the scroll with a _flap_ and rolled his shoulders 'till they cracked at places, followed by his icy eyes zeroing on the two of them.

"My dudes, I believe the jig is up. Time to spill the tea I'm owed."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Story Miscellaneous  
> #19:The Author is from the nation of Hungary. This piece of information is important to take into consideration, as the Author has never seen the English dub for either of the Kung Fu Panda movies, only the Hungarian dub. The Author would like to ask his readers to mention if Po ever had a catchphrase or frequently used word order. 'My fist hungers for justice' and 'Enemies of Justice, prepare-' are something the Author is in knowledge of.  
> #20:Crane's species is called 'Black-necked Crane'. The Author decided to make Bao a 'White-naped Crane' because he fancied the works of Yin and Yang, and found it a nice little way to emphasize their revealed bond.  
> #21:The Author knows that there are several Kung Fu Panda stories featuring Crane where his name is 'Huang'. The Author actually likes this name more for Crane, the name is everything that Crane should be. But the Author decided to go on a different road, giving Crane a name that, upon translating to English, would mean something.  
> #21A: 'Jia Lei' means 'Beautiful Thunder', 'Qiang Lei' means 'Strong Thunder', and Bao Luo means 'Gem Gatherer'. I won't deny nor confirm that these names are foreshadows.
> 
> Chapter 7 Miscellaneous  
> #1:This and the following three chapters will all conclude an entire day.  
> #2:For Bao's monologue, the Author took inspiration from Nick Wilde's speech in Disney's Zootopia(2016).  
> #3:With this chapter, every single character arc has begun. Everyone's inner demon has come out to light, some are even halfway, and the characters have three days to defeat them, or else...  
> #3A:With this chapter, all the elements has finally shown up at least once. Bao amazingly summarized everything.


	8. 2nd Day: Whose Life Was Left In Vain

"-and then, Po told us this with an honest face, 'I didn't know tigers can eat that much'."

"Just like that? Seriously?"

"Yeup."

"Oh. My. God," Bao massaged his face, huffing air out of his beak "He's so clueless and pure. I _legit_ envy the goose."

Crane cracked an amused smile under the candlelight. "You'd adopt Po?"

"Twenty times," Bao replied without missing a beat, his conversation partner snorting, " _No_ , you don't get to laugh because you don't understand. I _need_ that sugar in my life like I need air."

"Aren't I enough for you?"

"Sorry darling, you ain't my sugar. You never were."

And Crane, well, he would be lying if he said he didn't feel a little hu-

"I mean, come on! Would the sugar of my life remember – no, scratch that, _keep_ a promise he made decades ago? Sing in front of an audience, _just because_ he made a passing teenage promise? _Even_ _if_ he knows he's a wobbly little mess who cannot for the life of him function properly in front of one plus people? Nah Jia, you are way above fruity level."

Hearing that, Crane reared his head back, blinking owlishly at such a passionate delivery.

"W-wow, that's… high praise, from you. You still love greens this much, huh?" Crane mumbled, the heat jumping up to his cheeks like it was playing hopscotch. In his heart, he didn't find agreeable Bao's reasoning for him to still be so high up, 'above fruity' people don't just disconnect from each other for such a long time and without at least writing to each other.

"Hey, you know what 'above vegetable' level people also do?" and the avian Master had to realize that his doubts might have shadowed his features. By the pointed look Bao was suddenly giving him intensely, while a single blueberry popped into his beak, his best friend had been more than aware enough of his little slip.

"Huh?"

"Not be frowny jerks. I mean, _could you imagine_ being in my company and actually feel troubled? Ha! Absolutely barbaric."

Crane felt the disappointed air leave him, his eyes moving downcast to the bare wooden floor of his room.

"Yeah, I know…"

"You better. Like, seriously, ever since you got here, it's _amazing_ how much you frown. Wait, there is a better word. Stupidious, Stupidous, stupendas-"

"Stupendous."

"That. See? Big words? I fancy them very much. Frowny jerks? Not so much. New habit or…?"

Crane didn't reply right away. The moonlight shot through his room's window and hit his face, illuminating it for Bao to see it clearly. With that glorious hat off his head, hanging from the edge of Po's bed in the background with Crane's red robe folded under it, there was nothing to hide behind.

"Well… I don't know."

Bao's jaw went slack, far from impressed from these pitiful and sad, uttered words. He showed his unappreciation by wrapping a wing around Crane's much more defined, but now helpless frame out of the blue, and without asking so, he gave him a tight side hug.

"Ring-ding-ding! Hear the chimes? It's the arrival of a new event! Jolly good time!" he whisper-shouted in a fake, high voice, one that sent Mr. Ping's ardent advertising of his shop to shame. Before Crane could ask anything, or even accept that yes, being aggressively snuggled is his life now, Bao continued.

And boy, oh boy, was he giving it his all.

"Now that the Big Guy Mackinson over there is snoring louder than an explosion, it's time for our weekly show of 'A Little Heart-to-Heart'. Starring the week's _giga_ - _mega_ celebrity, the one who made people _literally_ spin off their chairs in amazement, the king of the fruit and greens level; Master Crane! Co-starring the host for tonight, a fashionable specimen of his species, the Lord of the Flames, the Emperor's most trusted man alive; Yours truly! F-F-F-First quest-"

And Bao stopped, because Crane's body was shaking in his attempts to stifle coy giggles, while looking at him like he was the biggest idiot on earth, and the white-naped crane's eyes twinkled seeing this. He leaned close with a devilish grin, and using his slightly shorter beak, he started softly preening Crane's shoulder feathers. The Master burst out in beautiful laughter, ferociously trying to struggle out of Bao's hold. Turns out, twenty years of intense training and a whole bunch of Elemental Chi was enough for one to get out, and the Emperor's Trustee found himself pushed away rather easily. Sadly, the knowledge of what balance was had been thrust away too, and for a single passing moment, Bao was weightless.

"Okay, okay, I'm answering, I'm answering!" Crane said in rapid hushed tones, nervously glancing at the sleeping panda on the bed to make sure they left him undisturbed. His wings, in the meantime, caught and brought Bao to a standstill, gripping him by the shoulders while he calmed down. 'Damn, he has a strong hold' Bao quietly thought, too smitten to make a quip about the lack of modesty in the situation.

"So," the Master began after his lungs reacquainted themselves with air, "These days are… a little hard for me with, you know, this whole Elemental Chi business. It's maybe a bit too big of an obstacle for me to defeat in the end, but… yeah. I don't know."

Bao tilted his head.

"Aham. Sooo…?"

Crane gazed back at his friend's face, devoid of anything resembling sympathy, even seemingly expectant of something from him. He knew that face. He had faced that many times.

"So… I'm probably just overreacting," he said with a sigh.

"Mhmm. And…?"

"Are you really going to make me say it?"

His answer was an infuriatingly passive face and an awaiting raise of the eyelid, unfazed by the verbal challenge.

"Goddamnit all to hell…" Crane cursed, wishing he had teeth to grit together, "And I guess I have what you like to call as 'worthless artistic reluctance'."

" _And nothing more_ ," Bao said, stressing it out. He raised a wing to pat Crane's shoulder, "Good. And damn right you do. Draw a picture or play on that erhu after training, that ought to calm your jitters."

"Already planned on doing that. _Wow_ , 'calm your jitters', did you get some new expressions in your arsenal?"

"A wise bird once told me; every day is another day to better your troops, be it literal or just mental."

Crane squinted at his friend in the dark. "I didn't say that."

"No kidding, Sun Tzu. I got this from that box of wisdom you call your Pa. I had twenty years to warm up to him in your absence, by the way," Bao said, and suddenly he was embracing Crane once more, proper and needy this time, and his whispers were desperate, "He is so much boring than you are, pleaseneverleaveagain."

Jia's body was warm and just so soft to feel it against his feathers once again. Once again, and forever from now on, because the next time Jia left, he would carry a Bao-sized package on his back. All rationalities and responsibilities be damned, the white-naped crane heckin' deserved the other avian back in his life, and that was a fact so firm, jade looked like pudding next to it. Then he felt that strong, graceful wing slide up his back, and Jia was embracing him, telling him what Bao hoped; He too had missed their closeness.

"I won't," his ears heard the subtle, under-the-breath words, and the urge to fan his face from the incoming waterworks was as powerful as ever, "But- yeah. I really hope I can get ahold of this. Because I don't think I'll believe what would happen if I don't."

* * *

On the next day, Crane leaned on the white, polished windowsill of the Palace's tower, watching from high up how the zealous capital came to life on this morning. From up there, his hometown resembled the Lin'an from his colt years, yet it obviously progressed so much in the meantime. The streets ran the same busy lines of dirt, the houses and compounds hugged each other in the same pre-made system, as in the closer to the palace, the higher and more luxurious they looked. The people were the same too, the rushing nobles and clan heads ignored everyone and everything in their scramble towards their destinations, while the commoners ambled, swayed, even stopped to chat with each other occasionally.

He did notice some new additions though, such as the patios sticking out of the highest building of the wealthier compounds. He remembered how big of a sensation it had been when a lower-class family built one, and how the rich shunned them until they were chased out of the city for good. Seems like having this little extension was the damnest of sins only if a non-rich family built it, otherwise it was a fashionable architectural choice.

Crane wanted to appreciate all that, he really did, _but_ he had other problems at the moment…

" _Come on…_ " a whisper said from his side, and the avian Master felt yet another poke coming at the side of his head.

He stopped the offensive talon and directed it away. "Are you deliberately being this annoying this soon?"

His company grinned at him innocently. "Yes."

"Once, it was impossible to wake you before noon."

"And once, it was impossible to have the power of five plus one elements. Times change, huh?" his company snarked back, "Now gimme some flame, pretty pweeease…"

Crane finally turned to the side to see none other than Bao with his leg raised, blunt talon pointed at the Master, while his tongue poked out of the side of his beak. Crane mused how one could put such an astounding amount of concentration simply to annoy him, but he guessed if there were one thing Bao relished more than anything, it was the fire and being a general nuisance. Only then did he just come at the third place, so this must have been bright news to the Emperor's Trustee how he could interact with his favorite three things at once.

Crane snorted. Getting outclassed by fire, _mhmm_. Good thing he wasn't the jealous kind.

"Continue like this and the whole palace may burn down. _Just saying_ ," he warned pointedly. The approaching claw halted its advance, Bao looking up in thought for a moment, before smiling even more wickedly and closing the rest of the distance.

"Boop."

Crane let out an airy, disbelieving chuckle. "You are a riot."

"And you can control fire at will."

"But I can't? Not at will, at least."

"Hm, true, but the scroll said you need to be angry or at least aggravated for that to happen _anyway_. 'Aggravated' is a fancy word and I like it, so I will make you aggravated," Bao said, his voice distracted by the continuous poking at Crane's shoulder.

"The only thing you will make me is rethinking what my younger self thought when he agreed to be friends with you," Crane replied, yet not prying his shoulder away from the prodding.

"And the prize for the biggest lie ever told goes to… Master Lei!"

Crane felt his face constrict in a cringe. "Please don't combine my name and title."

"Jia Crane?" Bao suggested, but he too winced at his own word, "No wait, you are right, that's horrible."

"Why are we here again? Dad wants to speak with me, sure, but - why make it a big deal?"

Bao finally stopped his prodding and let his foot drop to the ground.

"Why? Can't _Daddy_ _Dearest_ want some family time with his own son?" he said, his playful tone smoothly flowing from his ever-teasing smile.

"He visited my room two days ago by himself. If he wanted some 'family time', he could have done that again and not in front of a bunch of important people," Crane rebuked, pushing himself away from the windowsill, "Speaking of, do you have _them_?"

The crazy grin that overtook Bao's face was one that hunted people's dreams.

"You mean _these?"_ he said, his wings disappearing inside the hem of his yellow tunic. When they came back, two grey metal balls laid on his white feathers. These little balls weren't of the sizeable kind, they couldn't have been bigger than half of a tofu bun. They were also imperfectly spherical; there was a dent on top for both, where a closed up daffodil flower bud rested.

Crane nodded.

"How do they work again?" Bao asked, hungrily eyeing the little spheres like they were the greatest thing ever. Crane raised a talon to take one of them, then threw it onto his left wing while walking back to the windowsill.

"Still remember Po's lesson?" Crane asked once he stopped, and Bao's heart sped up when instead of sarcastic flatness, mother-hen worry or the soft hue of shy happiness, the face of a Mastermind welcomed him. That cocky smirk and half-lidded eyes were unnatural on Crane's face, but Bao knew his best friend thoroughly; He may have been a shy, sarcastic little artsy-pants usually, but every person had a not-so innocent side. The 'Mastermind', as Bao liked to call it, was Crane's naughtier side.

And it was roaming free.

"'Course. Still can't believe I made you guys scared enough to teach me those Kung Fu secrets. You _know_ I wouldn't have actually ratted you out, right?"

"I did, Po didn't. He gets anxious when he's scared."

"Nevermind that! So, what now, _what_ _now_?"

Crane grinned and held his wing out of the window. The ball cozily laid there, flower bud looking back at the avian Master.

"This beauty right there is called a 'Mist ball'. The product of what happens if you modify fireworks to have less spark and _much_ more smoke, explicitly made for the practitioners of Kung Fu. It still needs ignition to work, thus the flower, but you get what I'm saying," he began, motioning his friend to step up next to him.

Bao was more than happy to oblige.

"Now, remember what Po taught you yesterday about Chi. Got it?"

Bao took a deep breath and closed his eyes. His wings clasped together tightly in front of his chest, his heart beating even faster than when he prepared for his first explosion. Then he relaxed his appendages, right until the tips formed a yin-yang symbol in front of him. Crane smiled and did the same, albeit only with one wing as he was still stretching the other beyond the window. They moved their appendages together in the standard arc, both flowing in the air like waves would on water. Soon, both Bao's and Crane's right wing tip glowed in accordance, the sheer energy escaping from their combined effort tickled the bud. It tickled it and tickled it so on and so on, until the flower finally accepted the fresh wave of power, and began opening its petals with a yellow shine. The petals stretched and flexed until they stood rigid and invigorated, but by then Crane had already thrown the ball into the air.

City officials received numerous reports that day, of a low-flying cloud that blinked into existence right next to the Palace Tower with a snappy _puff_.

Crane didn't have time to marvel at the effectiveness of the shop-bought Mist bomb, because a pair of wings suddenly took hold of his shoulders, and began _rocking_ him into a daze.

"I could _literally_ KISS YOU NOW! Holy flames, this will be amazing!"

"Please don't."

"Right, right, we don't have time. We have grumpy people to prank!"

And with that, they were cruising down the halls. Or, more like Crane was trying not to fall beak-first to the ground thanks to Bao's rough but excited tugging on his wing. After one particular corner, they turned onto a corridor, one that felt… weirdly familiar, Crane noticed. Then he realized; They were right at the hall where the Tea room had been yesterday, which confirmed itself when his eyes landed on the blue doors at the far end. Knowing that his father invited him to the Council room and remembering Bao's tour the day before yesterday. Crane guessed that they had arrived.

Bao stopped right at that moment, and the avian Master bumped into him.

"And! We're here…" Bao intoned dramatically, his wings taking hold of the handles on the massive double doors. They opened after a grand push, and Crane…

Well, he had mixed reactions.

The ceiling was as high as the corridor's, a spacey feel permeating the room. From his point of view, the windows made up the entirety of the left, while a blank wall stood on the right. Being the place where the Empire's businesses were spoken about, the decor was expectedly grand, Crane found the scattered golden, jade and silver statues, the ceramics, the throne, and the marble ground a little overwhelming from an artistic view, breathtaking from a regular one. Things were clean and orderly, no lie about that (a little too orderly if you asked him), and the avian Master felt really insignificant among all these riches. Speaking of that throne; a straight, carpeted path led from the doors to the glorified seat, and it was just as glorious as the stories had told. The Dragon Throne, as they called it, was a bedecked and well-crafted chair, standing at the top of three small steps like one would on top of a mountain after a finally completing challenging hike. A table stood in front of the chair, a piece of bloodred cloth covering its surface, Crane guessed it was of silk if its fine texture were anything to go by. From the middle, two great reredos spread off behind the throne, and mighty dragon heads pointed down towards the seat from the top.

His father was standing there, leaning on the small table with a cup of steaming tea held between his wings. In front of him, a tall gazelle knelt, wearing a pair of blue tunics and pants; One of their antlers was missing. Crane couldn't make a judgement on their gender as the gazelle was facing away from him, and the quiet discussion between them and Qiang wasn't audible enough for him to make a sound decision. Upon his son's enter though, his father's beak turned up to a smile and gave the tiniest of nods, fatherly and happy was this tiny gesture, before he focused back on the gazelle's words. Crane nervously reciprocated everything, his beak edging to fall from the fact that _his father was sitting in the Dragon Throne!_

Well, 'sitting' more like.

On the left-side of the room, where the morning sun's rays seeped through the thin windows, the many Eunuchs sat. As Crane tip-toed through the eery silence among the echoing walls, he made a note on the large group's age; Most of the hundred or so Eunuchs were wrinkly, worn old men, Shifu looking like an infant compared to them. Their form-fitting, pure white tunics with its long sleeves hung from their characters, and a golden belt encircled their pudgy waists, the words 'New Zhao' sewn above it into the robe. Crane _had_ wondered what the phrase meant, because both his father and Bao had the same phrase on their own robes. Hell, even his and his friends' given attires all had 'New Zhao' somewhere. Only a couple younger members saved the bunch from looking akin to grey haired/feathered weirdos, one which would have made Crane question if the local Nursery Home had a massive break out.

He suddenly didn't think Bao's earlier comments had been harsh or rude. In nature, maybe so, but their raw fact status was undeniable.

Back to the not-so-friendly group, they sat behind six rows of tables, positioned parallel along the window and the carpeted path. Every second row elevated slightly, making sure that all the members of his Majesty's civil servants were on display. Now that Crane noticed, the Eunuchs didn't even _try_ to look inviting; most of them bore either the same sneer, or a bored, yet snobby thinning of the lips, like they were too privileged to even be _here_. At the middle of the front most table, an elder Bengali Tiger caught the Master's attention, wearing the same set of attire and a pair of ridiculously big glasses, scrutinizing a stack of papers in front of him with such a sharp eye, the writings may have just evaporated in place. Then he looked up, right into the Master's eyes, and Crane could swear he saw hell scorching the earth, cutting its crust until everything tumbled into its core.

He had to roll his head. He carefully brushed his feathers that morning, so he really couldn't afford his nape to stand like a frightened cat in the dark.

On the other side of the room, the situation was much more different. While the Siren sang in his ear, and his fragile heart sped up when he made eye-contact with the Eunuchs, he felt his spirits ease and his resolve tighten when he looked this way. The heads of the major families all kowtowed there, some wearing lush robes that almost rivaled the quality of his Majesty's, some wore rough armor of a wide range of paler colors, accompanied by the banner with their family name and crest that stuck out of their back like a flag. Their faces were pleasantly sober, showcasing no emotion whatsoever, but Crane could feel the pure respect aimed at him. They were bowing before him like they would to an Emperor, and the avian Master's posture dropped.

He didn't… deserve that. No, none of that.

Silencing every complaint or displeasure he had, and putting them away for a later meltdown, he strode forward to the middle of the Council room, then stopped. By now, the Eunuchs managed to be bothered enough to look his way, and like a herd of sharks they began eyeing him. From his place, he could finally hear the conversation between his father and the kneeling gazelle.

"-and you say the drought has killed over three-quarters of the province's crops?" his father asked calmly, his eyes assessing the fellow in front of him.

"Yes. Please your Highness, I beg of you… the people of Guang won't survive the winter. We need subsidies, privileges, e-even monopolies, otherwise our market presence and trade contracts won't hold up and millions of people will _starve_."

Qiang narrowed his eyes. Watching the gazelle, now recognized to be a female, he put down his tea and began scratching the underside of his beak with his wing slowly, before he cleared his voice.

"I would like to ask the opinion of the Nobles on this matter."

The gazelle blinked at Qiang. Confusion poked its foggy head through her desperate features, but she nonetheless stood up, her feet shaky, and faced the strict masks of Lin'an's most important people. Crane could hear her gulp from the bottom of the small staircase. The shushing whispers and grumbles soon overtook the room as intellectual and crucial discussions bloomed all over the right side of the room.

"How much of China's agriculture does Guang province contribute on a yearly average exactly?" a random voice rose above the noise, halting all conversations. All eyes on the gazelle, she fiddled with her arms as she spoke.

"Nineteen percent."

This seemed to be a satisfying answer, because the nobles resumed their discussions, now lightly nodding amongst each other. Barely seconds later, a peacock stood up at the front row, his feathers colored in a way that he couldn't have been from a festival, because he _was_ a festival; neon blue, green, red, even strong pink.

"The nobles would officially allow Guang province to have certain monopolies on certain agricultural commodities for the following year's time, but we kindly ask that you establish a trade union with the rest of the provinces affected, so as to not demolish their own market."

"C-certainly," the hopeful gazelle said, then turned to His Majesty. The Emperor always had the last word in every decision as per customs, and today wasn't about to be an exception.

"Bao, would you be a dear and bring me a map of South China? I believe I left it in the Tea room."

The bird in question, Crane noticed, had moved away from him to the Dragon Throne, now standing at the right side of his father. Upon hearing this request, he stretched; his sleek back popping in three places, and lazily nodded, before taking flight. Crane felt his head rear back in surprise at his best friend's sudden speed, so much so that passing thoughts about a possible race began forming in his head, and how it would have to take place to decide who was faster between the two of them.

Bao was rapidly out of the double doors, the sound of his wings mixed with some cries of surprise from the outside corridor reflecting back to the Council room. A few awkward seconds of silence passed, when nobody knew what to do, but the Emperor's Right Hand was quick to return. Appearing in the doorway like a droplet of rain on a leaf at a monsoon, a middle-sized scroll clutched between his talons, he soared above the carpeted path. He soon arrived back where he took flight from, and with a stylish move, he threw the scroll up into the air. The rolled-up paper landed vertically on the edge of the covered table in front of Qiang, fell over, and rolled out to its full extent, filling the empty surface under. Bao made the move look _so_ easy to do, even the Eunuchs looked taken aback by his careless, but efficient move. He, on the other hand, looked completely unbothered as he lazily retook his place next to Qiang, said elder avian smiling softly. Crane tilted his head at his friends sudden carefree attitude, wanting to know what was going on in that empty field for a mind, but then it all became clear when Bao winked at him, and began coughing that fooled none; he was disguising his snickers under them.

_That little showoff…_

That was the moment Qiang took ahold of the two sides of the scroll-now-known-as-map. His eyes scrutinized the thin lines of where the land of his country ended and the South China Sea began, curving down so evenly, one could have doubted it was a true depiction of reality. His yellow pools jumped between the rougher dark spots, with names of great cities written above them, showing the densely populated coast the curve was.

He didn't spend much time with his beak burried in the scroll.

"Mhmm," he hummed contentedly, putting down the map and looking up at the jittery gazelle.

All eyes on him, Qiang opened his beak.

"Your appeal for Guang province to have certain monopolies is denied."

"But-!"

" _With that said…_ " Qiang cut off her panic, nodding to the Bengali tiger Eunuch, who clicked his tongue and readied to write, "Your problems _do_ need to be attended. But I'd rather avoid juggling such high privileges between major provinces, so here's what will happen; In the following year, the administrative center of your province, the city of Panyu, will be named center of trade. Every export or import, shipment or land trade happening to the south of Zhejiang province must go to Panyu from now on, where a grand market will be established. You will also name the cities of Zhanjiang, Gongmen and Yazhou as alternative centers if a trip to Panyu cannot be made. It goes without saying that you have to also establish grand markets there."

The tiger was diligently writing every word down, even if he looked ready to give up desk job for good. Qiang shifted, his elbows coming up to rest on the table, while he laid his long beak onto his intertwined beak in front of him.

"B-but your Highness! Excuse me for interrupting, but Gongmen city is impossible! It is under the care of the Kung Fu Masters Council, I-I have no power over there."

" _Let_ that be my trouble, all right?" and at that, a decent amount of people in the room (Bao included) glanced at Crane, who suddenly felt rather lightheaded, "Where was I? Ah yes! The trade union is not a bad idea either. I want it established as soon as possible with the seven provinces this arrangement will affect. What you do with the income from Panyu and the union is something I trust you will be honorable enough to use it for the purpose it was given for. You also said you have unrest problems as a consequence to the lack of food, some of your people going guerilla, no?"

The gazelle's whole body was shaking. "W-well, yes. Yes, I said that."

"Dissatisfaction is a great motivator, huh? All right, your entourage back to Guang will include an army of a thousand men. They will be given the orders to hunt down the rebels, bring them to Lin'an where they will receive their deserved punishment. Would all these arrangements save the glorious province of Guang?"

"…Yes," and Crane still couldn't see her face, but she was shaking and weeping, a silent sob cracking her voice, which was all he needed to know, "Yes! Thank you! I-Thank you your Highness. Guang province w-won't forget this kind deed of yours."

The gazelle obviously wanted to gush more, and Crane could understand her; With this deal, Guang would get enough bonus income to keep itself afloat. Having that province fall to the depths of chaos would drag the whole Empire with itself, and his dad couldn't afford such problems when stabilizing China as a whole was still a major concern.

Guang's half-antlered representative kowtowed once again, bowing even on the ground before Qiang, before hastily standing up and heading out of the Council room. His father let himself finally relax in his throne, taking hold of his now lukewarm cup of tea and turning to look at his son for the first time today. His mood elated like his face did, soft and giddy like the feel of cuddling the whitest of blankets. At the same time, the old Bengali finished scribing and put down the brush, his elder furred cheeks looking much more spoiled. Those features turned sinister the moment he began standing up, those long, covered arms lifting his body from his chair. His gruff, deep clearing of throat disrupted the serene silence of the room.

"Jia Lei of the New Zhao dynasty," he began sternly, gathering the attention of every soul inside the room, "…and Master Crane of the Jade Palace. Admirable titles, truly. On behalf of his Majesty, the Emperor's personal unit of advisories and the Guardians of the Empress' heavenly figure, the Eunuchs, we welcome you back to Lin'an. We hope your stay would be the start of a long-lasting, _beautiful_ friendship."

…

Nope. Bao had been completely on point; these people were _scary_. The way that gluttonous glint appeared in the elder's look after listing off Crane's titles was enough to make him think about backing right out of the room silently. Also, 'Jia Lei of the New Zhao dynasty'? What was that about?

"M-much appreciated."

His stutter seemed like a reaction the Eunuchs had hoped for, the sudden smirking murmurs between each other and the satisfied nods were giant tells. By Bao's half-lid, but tense eyes, he really wasn't happy about this introduction either. His father was outright glaring at his own personal group of helpers, and the Master could swear an undertone of breathless growling echoed from among the nobles' side.

The unsubtle deliveries of greed layered by malicious intentions, _those_ he could understand. But everything else? It's like he was missing something crucial, a bigger picture.

"Son! I was waiting for you," Qiang hollered, gaining his attention back. Crane still had to blink at seeing his Pa in the Emperor's clothes, sitting right there where every other Son of the Heavens once sat. The older bird motioned him to come closer, so that was what he did. With a single move, he stepped over all the three small levels of the little staircase. Apparently, people had opinions about this innocent action, as subtle hisses cut through the air at that moment like razor-sharp needless would through skin. It all came from the nobles' side, paired with a bunch of snort-y chuckles from the Eunuchs, and upon gazing to both sides, he confirmed his suspicions; The nobles were actively trying to set their faces straight, especially now that he looked that way, while the Eunuchs bathed in some kind of divine triumph.

_Something crucial, something, something…_

"Don't worry son, you'll learn the proper etiquette later. Now come! There is something I must show you," his father's bright voice regained his attention again, and he only paid a small whim of thought to how fast Qiang changed from an angry glare to bubbling excitement, but he quickened his pace nonetheless.

Qiang beamed up at his son (since when did Crane get taller than him?) once Crane stepped right in front of the throne, then motioned to his right, towards Bao, who, contrary to the Emperor, hadn't ceased his heated clash of the gazes with several smug-looking Eunuchs; it became even more heated. Scoffing, the white-naped crane turned his head away in a high-and-mighty manner like the diva he was, and stretched his wings out. Crane watched him swiftly take off again, flapping above the nobles' heads with elegant and tiny movements, until halting next to the blank, red, marble wall behind them. Only now did Crane notice the wide, tightly curled up rugs attached to where the blank wall and the ceiling met. The hovering Bao's leg shot out at that moment, and while Crane couldn't exactly see what he had done, he could make an educated guess. Especially when after the action, the rug began unfurling downwards with great rustles, quickly filling a good seventh of the great room's right wall. On the rug, a bird-like character clad in battle armor was depicted with a crossbow held steady in his wings, as he rained fiery arrows on an unknown army from above. Their features were hard and furious, with their long beak open in a screaming battle-cry towards his bloody surroundings.

At the bottom, the following text was sewn into the rug;

_Min Lei, the Righteous_

Crane couldn't think about the fact that _hey_ , _I know that name_ , because another rug was unfolding to the right. Another bird, this one showing distinct features of cranes, _black-necked_ _cranes,_ but the theme of the rug differed; Instead of armor, battle and weapons, the figure had numbers, scientific phrases and papers flying around himself, while he himself was diligently writing on one. His clothing was modest, only the Emperor's hat and nothing else from the regular attire associated with his Majesty. Now that Crane noticed, they looked like a commoner, actually.

_Yong Lei, the Clever_

Other rugs began to unfold one after the other until the blank red wall was no longer visible, sans a tiny part at the very bottom. A cheering crane appeared with food, money and happy faces surrounding his fragile frame among a setting that looked like a festival. He was holding a baby in one wing, the other wrapped around a beautiful female crane. The Master didn't need much clue to guess who she was, the Empress' attire was obvious enough.

_Jing Lei, the Prosperous_

Another crane appeared, this one casually sipping a cup of tea while people with varying rich clothing bickered around him. From those, Crane recognized some of the Lords of the most influential Chinese provinces, the Emperor of the Korean Goryeo Dynasty, the Emperor of the Sunrise Land, the Head of the Mongol tribes, the kings of the Southern Trading Kingdoms, even Siddhartha Gautama was there, with all his divine glory, quarreling with the rest above the calm shoulders of the Chinese Emperor.

_Wei Lei, the Mastermind_

The next one was a stern, steely eyed specimen of his kin, surrounded by golden armored and winged soldiers of seemingly endless extents. Behind them, a kingdom of gold poked its head out from amongst the clouds, as the army ripped through the heavens and descended onto the soil.

_Fan Lei, the God of War_

And the sixth one was looking up at an opened sky, while he raised a shining wing above a patch of dead grain. The rug showed the grain amid shining purification, as one half was dead with blackness, while the other was healthy and yellow. In the background. the ruins of a city were seen, but there was one thing off about it; Half of the debris seemingly levitated, and the wall was already standing tall anew.

_Qiang Lei, the Retributionist_

"Do you like it?" Qiang asked, his plain excitement of the topic vigorous and much.

"I… don't understand. Pa, aren't those-"

"Yes," Qiang looked to be at the brink of crying from elation, "You remember the stories, right? I told you they were true."

Bao watched as his best friend's beak loosened until it almost dislocated. He would have laughed and teased Crane for keeping this little quirk of his alive even now, but he had a bigger problem.

"Erm, excuse me? Would you two be kind enough to _share_ with the curious audience?"

Qiang's yellow pools turned to him, while Crane kept on gaping at the rugs. He was so stunned to the core, he barely even blinked.

"Well… as you may see," Qiang began, motioning to himself, "Jia inherited many things from my fragile being, a little too many if you ask me. Thankfully, most of his personality is purely his mother. Bravery, reliability, uncontainable love, and a pragmatist way of thinking. That's all Yan."

Crane's beak snapped back to its place, and his feathery cheeks pleasantly warmed up. Withing a short moment, a whistling wave of wind hit the heads of the noble families, some of them even lost their headgear in the process while the ones with flags sticking out of their backs found themselves wobbly on their feet. Bao and Qiang tracked how Crane took flight and arrived in front of the rugs with a single great flap. The Master's eyes fastened on the art of the rugs, looking in between them in such disbelief, one would think his world was crumbling underneath him.

"One thing they definitely shared is how they believed," Qiang said, before turning to Bao, "Let me ask you a question Bao. Have you ever told Jia something new, and he didn't believe you on the spot?"

_Your son is having a meltdown, but sure, let's chat._

Bao's eyes turned up in thought while his beak opened slightly as he tried to resurface some old memories.

" _Yeees_ , actually," he said, crossing his wings in front of his chest, "There was this one time I told him about how I helped some farmers in the outskirts with the older kids of the orphanage, and for the life of me, I couldn't make him believe. Had to fly him there to show him in the end, and that was the day I learnt that 'giving the benefit of the doubt' was nothing but a bad joke to him."

Qiang chuckled and nodded. "Exactly. He and Yan always needed _evidence_ before they listened. Sadly, there was one thing he had never believed; his bedtime stories."

"Bedtime stories?"

"Stories of his ancestors. No matter how much I tried to tell him that everything in those were not fiction, but history, he wouldn't believe," Qiang said, his face brighter than Bao has ever seen it.

_Guess the return of Jia really upped his days._

Crane was immersed in the many depictions of Emperors from the old times, ones he had never heard of before. While he did that, still hovering above the heads of the nobles, his wings made those almost notably bigger gusts than one would normally do. Bao made a short 'huh' sound and let's his wings unfold.

"No wonder he is an artsy pants. If you can't believe it, why not envision it and then create it?"

"That was the philosophy of my darling."

Bao missed this sentence for a reason, and only one reason; A fresh memory jerked awake in his mind, so fresh, it spawned literally the last night;

' _I don't think I'll believe what would happen if I don't.'_

At the time, Bao didn't understand. He lacked the proper context and foreknowledge. But what Qiang had been telling then and there was exactly what he needed;

Crane didn't believe in things until there was evidence for it.

Thus, hypothetically (such a fancy word), if there were no evidence that he wouldn't destroy and kill things just by looking at them, then…

' _Oh, hell naw'_ Bao oh-so eloquently thought as he watched Crane hovering above, blankly eying the picture of Fan Lei on the one before the last rug. He won't be having his Not-So Little Jia be all mopy and self-doubting, not if he had anything to say about it.

Right at this moment the wind once again picked up, and Crane landed soon after, his crimson robe slowly falling with him to conceal his legs once again. He approached the throne with his head hung low, and Bao would have pursed his lips if he had any. Seeing Jia so confused, so heartbroken from this revelation alone _definitely_ didn't jump up to his top favorite things. His own lunatic little heart drummed a single, cooing beat in his ears, and the white-naped crane sighed; he never really liked how empathy felt.

"So… they were really true?"

Qiang nodded. "Indeed."

"I'm sorry Pa. I should have believed you."

"You have absolutely nothing to apologize for. Actually, your resolve gave me a great opportunity to tell you all about your glorious ancestors outside of singular events," Qiang's raised his leg and pointed a talon at Crane's chest, "The same ancestors whose blood flows in you, whose spirit you embody, whose very essence you carry. The forgotten, but _true_ heroes of China."

Bao tongued the inside of his cheek on the sideline, silently thanking whatever God out there that Jia didn't inherit Qiang's dramatics. He always liked his Little Jia shy and silent, because it gave a new taste to his own 'in-your-face', boisterous life. Speaking of, upon glancing at Crane to see what his reaction was to his father's passionate monologue, Bao wholeheartedly expected something akin to besotted wonder, a wonder that would materialize on a hanging scroll at Crane's room that night.

But instead, he was left intrigued;

Crane was not besotted.

He was _frowning_.

And what a frown that was. Not the frown of skepticism, or the frown of concentration. No, it was the frown disagreement. Qiang turned, and now he too was in knowledge of this surprising turn of events. When the Emperor blinked in confusion, Bao smiled; things were about to be interesting.

"Son? You… have something to say?"

Being suddenly put into the spotlight, the avian Master blinked, his expression rearranged; But it was all in vain, they had caught him.

"Uh…" Crane intoned with all the coherency of his mind at that moment. He looked between the two birds in front of him, both very close to his heart, and he knew that even if he had known how to lie, he would have broken down mid-"anyway. Add in the pressure from the many intrigued spectators from both sides, and the towers of the fortress his resolve embodied fell over each other, bringing down the cracking walls with them.

He sighed and shook his head.

"Dad, in the last twenty years, I…" he began saying, the red robe on him as uncomfortable as if it were made of silk suddenly, "I have learnt. I saw some things, events too, and they… they made me realize that everything has more to them th-than just – _blatant_ _goodness_. As per natural of course, the good makes the bad exist and vice versa, but…"

Bao had to step down, because Crane's stuttering persona suddenly vanished, a somber one taking its place.

"We think of 'heroes' as inherently _good_ , but that just cannot be part of our dual reality. But we like to give these expressions to anyone who - who does even a smidge of goodness, b-but there can't be heroes, not in real life, not in fiction, o-only in theory," there, Crane's heaving posture dropped, the ground under his fortress swallowing the towers, "I'm sorry, Pa."

…

'Interesting' was the word that went through Bao's head. So Kung Fu really did teach fancy philosophy, just as he had hoped. Or maybe it was just Jia being an oddball. The Council room seemed to share his sentient, as rumbling conversations fired off all over the place at that moment, debating the truth value and the applications of such way of thinking.

"Son, I understand," Qiang replied softly, brushing Crane's cheek, "We take this one step at the time. For now, let's be content with what we discovered today, all right?"

And that… _that_ was an evasive maneuver if Bao had ever seen one. Qiang didn't even look a little like he wanted to oppose or even think about his son's words. He looked at Crane like he was his 8-year-old colt again, who did something mildly mischievous; amused, almost entertained at the antics, but too carefree to give it another thought. Crane too looked befuddled at the unexpected reaction, but after being put in the spotlight and made to tell something so intimate to his person, he took the evasion with a small sigh of relief.

Bao, he, well- he wanted to scream. He expected a juicy debate, that's what made philosophy so entertaining, didn't it? Then what was this anticlimactic, boring mess of an end that made him want to snore the day away!?

_Whatever_.

"So, tell me son, what do you remember of the Righteous Min Lei?"

With a huff, Bao left the sappy father-son duo and skipped off the three-step pedestal, taking one step at the time as per customs. He knew that Crane was watching him, probably with a barrage of scaredy questions in his pools, but Bao didn't turn around; Instead, he walked over to the Eunuch's side, went around their six tables and arrived at the windows. In quick succession, he opened all of them wide, letting a fresh breeze into the room, and the closest Eunuchs thanked him with a sigh. Little did they know that they were the only ones who could have recognized his growing crazed grin, yet they didn't do so. Bao would praise the ashes first before he did anything remotely kind to these pieces of rotten bark, leeching on perfectly healthy trees.

He had much _funner_ things in mind.

He found Crane's eyes and bobbed his head. A signal, one that the Master immediately recognized, and for a ginger moment the 'Mastermind' flashed through his facial feathers.

_Good. He didn't forget._

Bao wasted no time to resume his place next to Qiang, his mood appropriately recovered from the abyss. He decided to listen in on the conversation just for the sake of knowing when the fun would begin.

"-and Fan Lei, oh yes, the greatest of them all, and unarguably the most misunderstood."

"You always told me the story of how he won a battle just by a swing of his wing..."

"A province filled with silent people, and Fan Lei opened a home to them. Glorious isn't it?" Qiang began with a voice colored with wonder and wishfulness. He turned to the rug depicting the ex-Emperor in question, and opened his wings wide, this gesture alone making the room feel even more spacey.

"He was what we all should aim to be; valiant, loyal, powerful, but wise enough to know his own limits. 'Always knew how much power he needed to defend China, but he was never greedy. He took what he needed to complete his goals. For that, I won't hide it; I want to rule like him."

Crane turned to his father, looking up at him in a new light. The elder crane looked at Fan Lei's picture like the little rabbit kids would look at Po whenever the panda was holding a public Kung Fu training at the village; bright face, with small dimples forming at the base of his rough beak just by that sheer smile. Qiang's wings fell to the table until they laid there exposed, the right one on top of the left one, utterly relaxed these appendages were.

Crane looked back to Fan Lei's depiction and wondered.

* * *

" _Pa, which tale will you tell tonight?"_

" _Well Little Jia, I brought something special today. Remember Fan Lei? I told you about him quite recently."_

" _I remember him! He was really cool! Though, I still don't get it how he beat all that people... He must had big wings, like, house-sized wings!"_

" _Well, hehe, no, he had normal sized wings. But you see, he could beat all those men because he was really powerful. Powerful like- like a thousand houses! At each wing!"_

" _Wow... I'm not powerful like him or you or mom or… or Bao- but I am definitely smarter than Bao! Pa, was Mister Fan like me? Was he smart?"_

" _He really was! You cannot have power without knowing how to wield it, and Fan… well, he was extraordinarily full of wit."_

" _Will the tale have it? His smartness?"_

" _Tonight's tale will show you how Fan Lei defeated mean people… just by looking at them!"_

* * *

So that was Fan Lei, huh?

While he was resurfacing a memory, he trailed down to that name at the bottom, sewn into the rug with dashing orange lines of an untied ribbon dancing in the wind. His eyes inadvertently jumped over to the next rug, the one depicting his father. The same design made the name, and a quick look at the rest of the ex-Emperors' names confirmed that it was not an accident or a coincidence; it was a pattern.

Then his eyes jumped at the bottom of the seventh rug.

The last rug didn't portray anyone or anything. A basic dragon motif crawled over the place where a picture should have been, one that was found somewhere in basically every hall of the Palace. But Crane didn't watch the dragon, _oh no_ , that thing's attention gathering effect was subpar to the sheer force those four words underneath had. The Master's mind blanked from sheer disbelief after reading those for even the fifth, sixth and seventh, frantic time.

_Jia Lei, the Beautifier_

"Dad… what is _that_?" he asked without taking his eyes off the rug.

"Oh, that's just a placeholder," Qiang easily mentioned, "Couldn't make you one yet. Not until your reign, that is."

_My… reign?_

…

…

_MY WHAT?!_

"Oh that's rich," Bao's laughing voice appeared from the side, before the bird in question patted Crane on the back, "You see that Qiang? Your son has gained some _serious_ acting skills. I mean, that terror looks so real, I'm almost convinced he really has just now realized."

The Emperor ignored him, instead opting to watch his son. Said avian Master shrugged off Bao's wing and took a step away.

"Son, you… have you not realized your status as the heir to the New Zhao dynasty all this time?"

"I…" Crane said, still frozen in the same trap of time, his focus glued to that damned piece of carpet, "need to… break. Yes, a break. That sounds-"

Before anyone could say anything, Crane turned on his heels and was already out of the Council room. The only evidence that he hadn't just simultaneously teleported away were the sudden gale-like wind, one that actually picked up and threw some Eunuchs from one place to the windows, and a great kerf above Qiang's name on his own carpet, that cut so deep, the marble of the wall behind it cracked up.

"Hm…" Bao mused, watching the double doors open deflect from the walls with a thud in Crane's wake. His mouth tasted bitter, "Well, there goes the prank."

Qiang didn't react. He was too busy also frowning at the doors, his intense gaze warming the interior of the Council room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Story Miscellaneous  
> #22: This story is rated T. In the hypothetical situation where I went R rated, there would have been some changes. For example, Bao would have swore, but in an eloquent way. His teasing/flirting would have probably contained more suggestive word plays. The action scenes would have been more bloody and, dare I say, realistic. A darker tone would have panned out thorough the story.  
> #23: In real history, Chinese Emperors had around 1000 Eunuchs working udner them. The Author decided to only use 100.  
> #24: The Author is mere 19 years old, which means he still frequents something called a 'high school', thus the reason why uploads are to be expected to drop less frequently and irregularly.  
> #24A: I am really, really sorry guys, I'll try to establish a schedule ASAP.
> 
> Chapter 8 Miscellaneous  
> #1:This chapter is what I named 'The chapter that could'. This chapter alone altered how I tailored the story to go. At the beginning it was supposed to follow the formula of the last chapter; 3 scenes, all characters having their arcs continued. Originally, the first scene was supposed to be Bao, Crane and Po meeting with Qiang at his 'office', and that idea evolved and devolved into the second scene of this chapter.  
> #2:Speaking of this scene, watch out for later chapters, as references to established things here will happen-  
> #3:The province of Guang (Guangdong), Zheijang, the cities of Panyu (Guangzhou), Zhanjian and Yazhou (Sanya) are all real life places in South China.  
> #3A: Fun facts: Guangdong province today has enough GDP to rival decently sized countries such as Mexico. The story takes place in Lin'an (today:Hangzhou), the center of Zheijang province.


	9. 3rd Day: He Could Never Break the Chain

The people of the slum of Tunxi were… perplexed.

In just a mere couple of days, this part of the city witnessed more activity than it had in the last hundred or so years. Ever since the army of foxes marched in and took refuge in the tallest and most 'accommodating' building of the district, people had become curious. Heavy carts filled with clothes, herbs and food could be seen continuously leaving and entering the ramshackle building, pushed and dragged by steadfast, somber-faced foxes. No one knew the exact number of people suddenly residing in that building. Some guessed thirty to forty, some swore on a hundred and fifty, while the local nutjobs preached about tens of thousands of vulpines, infiltrating the town under their noses. What everyone knew is that over ten foxes never left the building at once, and that clangs of metal clashing with metal could be heard every single night since they had shown up.

This wasn't the case today, however.

The populous woke up to find a large influx of vulpines, clad in golden soldier armor and spears, gathering on the dirt road that functioned as the border with the adjacent district. From the side of the dusty road and from the windows of their houses, the people of Tunxi watched the foxes assemble like a proper army; A main body in the middle, and two wings on the sides, spears held high. They faced a makeshift podium, only big enough for a middle-sized person to comfortably stand on.

Speaking of, a middle-sized person _was_ comfortably standing on there, with two bulky foxes at both flanks.

The person wasn't a fox, that was for sure. Unless they were a really slim and really _feathered_ specimen. A mask concealed their long face, painted as a bloody, battered up depiction of the current Emperor himself, and a cape that reached the ground behind their form. He wore metal armor, its streaks of jade and iron reflecting the shine of the sun. There were only two words painted on the chest plate:

_Honghe Dynasty_

The figure opened his wings.

"My beautiful and valiant brethren-in-spirit!" a booming male voice filled the air, slightly muffled under the mask, "Today, we return _home_!"

The army broke out in fox-like howls, ones that echoed all the way to the neighbouring city.

"To Lin'an!"

The figure flapped his wide wings and began gliding towards Tunxi's gates at an incredible speed. The army began moving in an orderly fashion, following the two bulky foxes in their march. Their synchronized and hasty steps shook the earth, and the people of Tunxi watched awed.

They never broke formation.

* * *

In the meantime inside the capital, more accurately in the Emperor's palace, the air was dense with tension. Crane left through the Palace's backdoor, rapid steps leading him onto the wooden path to the garden. His eyes weakly pierced the ground, blinking wide on his sagging head. His strong wings crossed tightly in front of him, yet their hug was much too weak and not enough. The robe, that should have elevated his figure to heavenly levels, just looked like a lifeless, sad burden on his thin shoulders.

For hours now, thoughts bounced in his head like a loose rubber spring, or a child, high on sugar. Before he could carry on with a notion, another was already crashing into it. Sometimes they weren't even relating to the now dead-end thought, and Crane lived the last few hours in a minute-long, fast-paced torture. He was so detached from reality in fact, he tripped over his own legs upon stepping onto the humpy bridge.

_I'm not ready. Not ready? What do you mea-, h-how do I even beginning to understand this? Me? The future Emperor of Chi- Me?! Is this a prank? Is this what an elaborate prank looked liked? No way, there is no way. What would that mean for the guys though? Will I have to leave th- Hell no! But what if-_

For hours, he had been painting. _Of course he had been painting_. At least, right until one of his shaky strokes impaled the nth scroll and ruined the picture. He fled after that. Yet right now, barely minutes later, his talons still itched for the smooth touch of a brush and the pure white palette of an empty scroll. It was like having severe rash, spreading over his legs and thorough his whole body. By this point, he was twitching to turn on his heels, head back up to his room, and not come out until even the _furniture_ dripped from his art.

A loud battle cry made him finally snap out. He raised his head, just to see his friends in front of him, in the middle of the sparring ground, dueling, getting ready to defend China's honor. In shambles as it was, something inside his mind gathered enough power to flip a lever in him. Thanks to that, he smiled for the first time that day, even though he wouldn't have normally.

For several reasons, actually.

He ignored how her injury reduced Viper to the sidelines, her tail still crooked and uneven. He ignored how Monkey's movements were lifeless, the Bo staff missing from his five-fingered hands like if they wiped the background out from a picture. He ignored how Tigress' hackles were standing so incredibly tall, they may have launched themselves off, and how her face constricted into the most unfeeling frown Crane had last seen from the teachers at Lee Da.

He felt a little bubbliness in his gut. _The_ _guys… Yeah, won't leave them for anything_.

He decided to focus on Mantis and Po first. While the insect's movements did lack the angry momentum people associated him with, Po's infectious enthusiasm certainly made it hard for Mantis to _not_ be invested in sparring. Crane watched them contently roleplay an actual fight, laughing in the inside how Po exchanged witty taunts and exaggerated impressions with the bug

"Is that all you can do, Master of the Mantis style? The stories had foretold your forecoming oldness, but I have never thought it would be this soon!" the panda shouted as he executed a fast series of offensive punches, mixed in with some belly thrusts; it made the insect unable to counterattack.

"What did you just say?!" Mantis shouted back, finally managing to jump over Po's belly and finding a precise kick to the lower jaw. The panda stumbled back, but righted himself just in time for the follow up strike; the insect bounced off easily. Mantis landed on the ground and turned to deflect a strike from the Po.

Crane's smiled widened. _Even if things aren't necessarily looking up… I still have them._

And of course, then things had to go south.

Out of the shadows, bushes, and honestly, thin frickin' air, people of all species jumped out, phasing through the sides of the avian's vision.

Tigress was swept off her foot, literally. She angled her body to right herself, but a big foot stepped on her back and pushed down. She coughed the air out her lungs upon impact with the ground. Crane looked up and saw a bear, an axe and a spear bound to his naked back, trapping her under his weight. The tiger Master tried to struggle out from under the foot, but the bear twisted it. She screeched; his heel almost punctured her spine.

"Stay there, _female_."

Her sparring partner, Monkey, quickly rushed to help her. Yet he stopped, when something green slithered up his leg and around his body. His trials to get out from the hold were fruitless, the hold was fixed. Soon, the body wrapped around his torso in a cocoon, and lifted him off his feet. The simian looked up into slitted, poison yellow eyes, and a forked tongue caressed his cheek.

"Never had I tasssted ape… Thisss will be fun."

Mantis did not even see what captured him. Only thing he knew that one moment he was free and the next he was not. He looked up, past the sharp talons holding him tight to see a muscled falcon. Then he looked back, because _duh_ , sharp talons. Moving was out of the question, he would be sliced open right away. He gulped; these were not Crane's dull claws.

"I would advise keeping yourself phlegmatic. Otherwise, this drama would get a tragic turn."

Po watched, stunned by how quickly his friends were being picked off. Viper's frightened gasp made him turn her way. A bare-chested buffalo stood before the snake with a withering gaze. Thankfully, she let her head drop, and didn't fight back; her injuries were too fresh still. The buffalo grunted dismissively.

That didn't matter to him, his job was done.

Suddenly, a feline landed before Po. She stood up, showcasing an extraordinary weapon in her hands; A sword, or at least at first it looked like a sword. Then she lashed out with it, and it elongated like a whip, crashing into the ground before his legs. Po backtracked, spooked, and watched as the weapon was torn back from the dirt. It retracted its blade-like state.

"Greetings, Daddy bear," a sultry purr colored her voice, and she smiled at him sweetly.

"Um, hi? Are you… here to attack me too?"

The feline, frailer in physique than Tigress, looked up in thought. She let her 'sword' rest on her shoulder.

"Hm. Not really. You were already taken, sadly."

Po blinked at her, confused, before a pair of double daggers appeared from behind him. They crossed in front of his neck in a scissor-like way. The panda looked down at the _sharp_ weapons, aimed right at his jugular, and almost gulped. A snarling snout appeared above his shoulder.

"It's payback time, _panda_ ," the snout said, and yep, it was a wolf. One didn't need much time to figure the canine's backstory. Shen's wolves were pretty easily recognizable.

The feline licked her finger and began motioning to each Master, counting them one at a time.

"One, two, three, four and… five. Huh, weren't there a bird too?"

Crane didn't even remember - when did he jump behind the northern tree? The rough bark irritated the feathers on his back, even through the expensive robes. But he endured; he couldn't afford to out himself. Rotating his head slowly, and making sure his beak pointed down, he glanced back at the training ground. From his position, he could see how his friends were either subdued on the ground, or in the air, and not even Tigress had any success struggling out. Under his furrowed brow, perfect shining yellow eyes stared at the bitter image of his toughest friend, on the ground, being literally stepped on like a mongrel. He occasionally glanced downwards in worry, his mouth copying this move to the letter.

Then he heard it. It.

" _Oh_ , not now, not now…"

Her voice was, once again, heavenly, even Crane could admit that much. But who cared about divine beauty and quality of the highest standard when it was nothing but a bad omen to guaranteed catastrophe? The mother-like voice flowed inside his head, beating his rapid heartbeat in audacity, and the avian felt like crying.

_That damned Siren._

"Come on…" his fragile body slid down on the body of the steadfast tree, clutching his shaking head between his wings, "Not now, not now, please, _not_ _now_ …"

His controlled breathing cut short when the sound of a whimper reached his ears from the training ground. His head snapped back, and he couldn't believe what his eyes were telling him; the buffalo snatched up Viper, the _very much injured Viper_. She was hurt, and the buffalo squeezed her - then tossed her away, like a broken tool, onto the rest of the captives.

A scorching reflection passed in his slit-like pupils.

In the meantime, the falcon hovered above the ground, Mantis still neatly clutched in his talons. "The drama needs all the components to be perfect, we must have all the characters present!" He puffed his feathers, irritated.

"Yada yada, drama drama, I know," the feline said dismissively, craning her head to look for the last of the six Masters.

The bear huffed and looked up at the stoic buffalo. "Is it just me, or it's getting warm here?"

The buffalo ignored him. The python hissed instead. "The heat isss coming from the Palace's direction. It'sss everywhere…"

"Na, your clothes," the wolf pointed out, and his daggers kept even closer to Po's throat, who, by now, opted to awkwardly fumble with his fingers in place. The bear dug his heels further into Tigress' back as she tried to struggle out again.

Na, the feline with the form-fitting, beige combination of tunic and trousers, looked down at her attire. A transparent material hung from her waist, like a miniskirt, decking the trousers under it. Upon being pointed out, Na noticed something weird; her miniskirt really was being licked by fire.

"Damn it. The clothes man, why always the clothes?" she said, frowning. She was about to pat the little flame out with her free paw, when something, or rather, somebody impacted with her head-on.

The rest of the attackers tensed when they noticed an orange figure shouldering Na away. The two animals hit the ground, and harshly drifted away, drawing a line behind them in the smooth ground. Then they halted, and only then did everyone realize who was the attacker.

"Crane!?"

Even Tigress had stopped her struggling and admired as her friend, engulfed in flames now, kept the other cat pinned to the dirt by the throat. What's worse, fire also consumed the leg he used, which meant that the choking sounds Na was emitting were only half coming from the fact that Crane's grip was tight as hell.

The buffalo grunted and took off in a hasty sprint, fully intent on swatting the pesky bird away. But Crane's head snapped to his direction, pupils devoid of any emotion except burning _rage_ , and a rumbling earth pillar emerged from the ground in front of the massive animal. The top of the pillar hit the underside of the buffalo's jaw with impossible speed, and the horrid crack that came after sent a shiver through everyone's spine.

The big guy let out a throaty whine, before falling over; his jaw hung in a strange angle.

By now, Na was writhing for more than one reason. Choking was one of them, and the smoke that ascended from her neck, smelling wildly of burnt fur, absolutely didn't help her. The other was that the sneaky flames have reached the skin under her pelt, and it was plain _agonizing_. Her arms hovered around the leg, obviously yearning to take hold of it and forcefully remove it, but the fire was just too hot to even get close too.

She gazed up amid her struggles; Crane was looking at her again. His beak, ember dancing around its length to the hot sounds of crackling with little popping sparks, leaned in close to her frightened face.

He whispered. "Unhand them."

Na bit her lip. The pale-yellow fear struck bits of her cheek with pin-point accuracy, and she raised a trembling paw, then snapped her fingers. Upon that, the bear stepped off Tigress' back, the python uncurled from around Monkey, and the falcon opened his claws for Mantis to jump out. The three of them immediately backed up Viper and stood ready behind her. The wolf growled audibly and spat sideways, before removing the daggers from Po's throat and pushing the Dragon Warrior forward.

"We are not done panda."

With Po awkwardly stumbling back to the rest of them, Crane stepped off Na, his flames dwindling. The feline just laid there, her eyes wide and her body motionless. Then her paw went up to her neck – soon it held several strands of her fur. She brought them to her face and scrutinized them; the pelt burnt into dead, black strands and ashes. A thin grey smoke rose up from her neck area, where a single thread of fur was still in the embrace of flames. She licked her fingers and put it out.

Then she laughed.

It started off as a small titter. Then, as her body started shaking on the ground, she boomed into laughter. And wasn't that an ugly, _tarry_ laugh? Not the soft giggle of Viper or the amused, humorous snort of Tigress, no; it was unguarded, cackling and deafening. She cackled with one hand covering her stomach, the other raised to point at Crane's heated being.

"You are-" and there, she let out something akin to a pig's snore, " _You_ _are_ _familiar!_ "

"Oh my!" the falcon brightened up, his giant wings grasping his chest, "How I couldn't foresee this plot twist? The son of the king is a fabled warrior!"

Dull silence met his exclamation. Most of the falcon's friends, namely the wolf, and the bear, shared a dumb glance between each other. Much to dismay of the large-chested avian, they shrugged; the wolf even shook his head to signal his lack of knowledge.

On the sidelines, the snake facepalmed himself with his own tail. "He isss Qiang's ssson… You dimwits."

"Huh," came the intelligent reply from the wolf, whereas the bear picked his ear, "With all due respect, his Majesty didn't look the kind who could get busy."

Mantis and Monkey slapped their arms over their face, trying not to burst into snorts, while Viper cringed in the shadow of her friends. Po subtly stepped away from Tigress, the tiger looking ready to tear into the guy even harder than before. Crane just froze hearing this blatant and sudden offense to his father.

Na, in the meantime, managed reign on her laughter. She sat up, wobbly yet sure on her feet. Gripping the burnt patch at her neck, she managed to stand up in a bent-over-knees position, her wheezing laughter present thorough.

"You know-" she said, a girlish giggle interrupting her string of words, "I was really worried that you people will be boring. But you, you look _fun_! So much fun!

Suddenly, she moved. After straightening out, she began playfully skipping around Crane's still on-fire form in a circle. What was even more astounding, is the fact that she did all that while _singing_ :

" _So much fun! Fun fun fun! We are gonna have so much fun! Fun fun fun!_ "

Crane's flames weakened, and his offended frown on the behalf of his father's honor morphed into bewilderment. His head tracked the childish feline around him, his beak falling lower and lower; one would think he should have been used to eccentricity, what with being surrounded by the most diverse group of people for years and Po - _especially_ Po - but this was a whole other level.

"Eeerm…?"

"Atta boys!"

Abruptly, all the newcomers jumped up at once, right onto the branches of the training ground's southern tree. While her friends ran into the crown of the giant tree until they disappeared, Na turned back and winked at the Crane.

"Don't disappoint me, you real soon!"

And then she was off too.

…

…

"I think we aren't ready yet."

Mantis' blank statement was more like an open-ended question. Crane and his friends continued watching the same spot, not taking their eyes off the branches from where their future opponents scurried from, not even after they huddled around the avian Master's now fireless form.

Monkey shrugged. "We just got caught off-guard."

"Guys… I think… that was one of the wolves I knocked out in Gongmen."

"There were a lot of those, Po," Viper meekly replied, taking her eyes off the branches first to look at the panda.

"Yeah okay, but- he definitely knew me. And he called me 'panda' in that really hateful voice, like – like Shen did."

Monkey's body slackened with a sigh, and he crossed his arms in front of his body. "And now he's here with some powerful new friends."

"Scary friends," Po added, looking back up at the trees and wondering. "Hey, do you think they are like the Furious Five of the North or something? 'Cause that would be sweet. Just the thought makes me pumped up for the incoming-"

Tigress growled in disgust and gripped Po's shoulder, then turned on her heels. She, with the surprised panda in tow, walked away from the group to the center of the training ground. Upon arriving, she put her friend in front of her, jumped back, and readied herself in the starting stance of her technique.

"Tigress?" the panda said, much less excited than he had initially pumped himself to be. The tiger didn't answer, instead she began her offensive with a flurry of wild strikes. Po scattered back and held up his defending arms, wide eyes watching Tigress' firmly wrinkled face.

"We-" she quickly aimed a kick at Po's short legs,

"are-" using her momentum, she tried to sweep the panda off his feet,

"severely-" then she straightened out and aimed an air-ripping punch from upwards. Po, like he did in the last two of her attacks, just hopped back. The tiger's fist missed, but she continued onward. She kept on punching and the panda kept on dodging; meanwhile Po's back neared the end of its free space. Once the panda hit the same tree behind which Crane had hid once, he held up his arms weakly, looking up at the tiger's furious form pleadingly. When that happened, Tigress leapt up with a cry, and after doing a somersault in the air, she descended towards the panda with her fist held straight forward. Po closed his eyes tight and looked away.

The tigers fist struck the ground in front of him, denting it.

By now, the rest of the bunch was watching the spectacle unfold with worry souring their perfect features. Tigress let her fist linger in the ground, her ragged breaths being the only voice filling the silence of the garden. Steely amber eyes focused blankly on a piece of earth, one that quietly begged to deteriorate into dust under her gaze.

She closed her eyes and sighed heavily.

"…behind."

* * *

They stayed in between the two great trees 'til dusk.

Their bodies felt achingly sore all over, yet they kept on training. Getting jumped on and completely neutralized was a deep jab at their pride, a complete embarrassment to some even. Round after round, they sparred and fought, their limbs clashing until they almost bruised, only taking breaks for a refresher.

New thing was Crane actually partaking in the spars for the first time - even if he had to restrain himself greatly. He couldn't go against Viper for obvious reasons. Mantis was out of question too; turns out, the bug gets easily blown away by the gusts of the bird's every movement. The rest of them were doable though, and it gave him a chance to find an equal wavelength with his friends, since neither had actually seen him much these days. Least to say, it left them astounded. Crane was literally untouchable; either a windy wing blocked their punches here, or a stone pillar emerged from the ground there, blocking any sneaky trials to put some hits in. Tigress broke through most of these pillars, but this allowed Crane to take on the offensive - much to the chagrin of the tiger. She didn't enjoy defending, but… she went along with it.

She enjoyed seeing his friend coated in fire even less.

Po, bless his heart, had been relentlessly encouraging the whole time, no matter if the current sparring duos had already fought five times already. Without him, they knew they would have given up and called it a day by mid-evening. Then at once, Shifu came down and threatened to use the Wuxi fingerhold if they didn't rest. They knew it wouldn't have worked on any of them, the move heavily relied on the actual intentions of the user, but they were tired and hungry, so they gave in.

After rest, they came back, but only to meditate. When the training ground didn't witness the supreme art of fighting, it was otherwise a really peaceful place. The tender quietness that only the rustling leaves and steadfast air could co-create sent everyone to serenity. Even the most rambunctious of people could find their muscles easing into soft relaxation these times.

The Masters sat in a circle. The ones who had no physical means of sitting opted to stand instead, but that didn't deter them from reaching the peace needed for meditation. Monkey preferred balancing on his tail usually, and he didn't break tradition this time either. His upheld figure and down bent head reached the height of the person next to him, Crane's height. The avian stood on one leg, the other hanging in front of him, his wings held at his chest until the tips touched. At the other side of him was Viper, tail still jerking instead of flowing seamlessly.

Facing Monkey was Tigress. Her face, guarded and emotionless at most times, was now relaxed and even; one could see a small smile there if they squinted. Next to her was Po, mirroring her pose. Difference between them was that thanks to a lone mosquito buzzing around his nose, Po had a really hard time actually reaching inner peace. Between him and Monkey was the last of the Masters, Mantis, with his twitching antennas and unmoving forearms.

There was no talking. Only the sounds of synchronized breaths.

That is, until Tigress' ear twitched.

"Oh. Should I… not… bother?"

Crane sighed on the side, while Po smiled. "Oh, hi Bao!"

"Well then!" the disheveled newcomer chirped, and walked up to the circle, "If I truly am not a bother, then Qian- _His_ _Majesty_ made some tea for y'all."

_That_ got the attention of the Masters. They looked up at the shorter avian, noticing both the platter with the six steaming cups and that heavy panting of his. Tigress moved first, taking the first cup slowly, faintly nodding at the correct title used for His Heavenly Figure. She tensely ignored the cheeky wink directed her way.

"Don't you want to rest a bit?" Viper accepted her cup too with a wobbly tail, while watching the Emperor's Trustee worriedly, "Sweetie?"

Monkey nodded. "Yeah, man, I've seen Crane's legs shake like that before. They usually don't mean no good."

Crane snorted mid-sip and rolled his eyes.

Bao looked up at them, and he took a deep breath through his nose. Letting out the air, he smirked his new conversation partners.

"Your worry is greatly appreciated, but sadly misplaced. It's just – apparently this is how it is. Big event coming up, all the important people must be notified of it, which means poor ol' me has to go from one compound to another, and then a third, a fourth, a fifth, and then _a ninety-eight_. It's taxing but… had worse."

"Aren't you holding this position for only a few weeks?" Tigress neutrally asked, still blowing her tea. She liked it a little lukewarm.

"Yeah, and I already saw it all! Can you imagine the fuss they made when Jia's dad was made Emperor?"

"That bad?" Mantis asked from the top of his cup.

"I was _not_ ashamed to collapse in front of your dad, let me tell you that much," Bao replied giving a pointed look right at Crane, "You will see me do that day by day anyway, what with you moving in the Palace and all."

…

…

"He will _what?!_ " the bug cut back in explosively, making Monkey lose balance on his tail and topple over with a shout.

" _What_ did you mean by that?" Tigress asked, and the polite passiveness disappeared from behind her words, the tension seeping back into it.

Bao blinked at the sudden verbal attacks. Looking around, he noticed both the snake and Jia blinking at him like what he had said surprised them. Even the monkey, after sitting up from his fallen over state, looked at him weirdly instead of his spilt cup of tea.

"W-wait, you didn't figure? _Seriously_?" he asked, looking around, "Crane is the prince to the Big Chair, did you all just assume after all this is done, he can up and leave? Just like that?"

From the uncertain looks most of them suddenly exchanged, Bao knew he hit the nail where it mattered. And he laughed, because frankly, the concept of all these people not realizing such a crucial fact _was ridiculous_ to him. Tigress and Mantis, on the other hand, did not appreciate the thought.

"Crane is a Master of the Jade Palace and he _belongs_ there. He will come back with us once we finished the task his Heavenly Highness the Emperor had given us," Tigress said stoically, looking into Bao's eyes and _daring_ him to speak against her words.

Thankfully, for once Bao had other things to say than to debunk her.

"Hey, don't shoot the messenger! For all I care, Jia could leave the country and live far away. It's his Heavenly Highness you have to take the issue up with, 'cause, _hint_ _hint,_ he's already planning the beginnings of his introduction into the _wonderful_ world of the Palace."

Mantis frowned, and opened his mouth to say something, when the wind moved. Heads whipped over to Crane's place, just to see an empty cup pathetically lying on its side on the ground, the bird missing. Looking up, they barely spotted Crane's shrinking figure in the distance, as it ascended to the Palace's tower.

Po sighed, looking into his cup sadly.

"Oh boy, he was right…"

* * *

Paper shuffled over paper, the sound filling the small, dimly lit room at the top of the tower. Qiang's wings held these papers up for himself to read. His yellow eyes inspected the brush-stroked words that contained the specific orders for the entourage leaving to Guang province tomorrow morning. He smiled; the phrasing was adequate and becoming, partnering with a neat penmanship, one that read admittedly worse than his son's. He rolled the paper up into a scroll and sealed it together at the middle. His weaker writing skills never bothered him - Jia always had a knack for the wonder of the ink and the brush. Sighing, he put the orders into a growing pile of scrolls at the side of his wide table, before taking out another piece of paper. He paused when the virgin space before him showed its perfect whiteness, one that he would fill in with the brush he held in his talons in the next couple of minutes.

Ah yes, Jia. Just the thought of his son made him smile; such a fine man he had become, and Qiang just simply couldn't _not_ feel ecstatic whenever he passed his mind. A famous Master of the Martial Arts, with immortalized stories intertwined with his name like ivy on a wall? The Prince to the throne of China, one that the Empire would be proud to call the true son of Heaven?

It was all his little colt.

Though that reminded him of the incident earlier today. He sincerely hoped his son didn't drown himself in the bottomless ocean anxiousness was. Qiang wasn't a hopeless fool; he could make an educated guess that the revelation of his apparent princehood must have had been quite a shock to Jia. Though the fact that not even two days of living in Lin'an had been enough for his son to figure out such a basic connection was mindboggling to the older avian, but he let it slide.

He just hoped his son had learnt to control his thoughts.

That was one thing Jia had always struggled - adapting. Flowing through life's repeating patterns like a certified professional, enjoying the naturally slow changes and rules; that was his element. But when things turned upside down, _oh boy_ , Jia might have as well smashed himself into the same deadend wall, trying to get out.

He was halfway through the orders for his own personal servants, when he heard knocks on his window. Surprised, he put down the brush and left his table to open the latches – but then he had to step back quickly, because _speak of the devil_ …

"H-hey dad…"

Qiang blinked down at his son's form on the ground.

"Good afternoon to you too, son."

Crane smiled awkwardly at the amused greeting he received. Bracing himself, he pushed his whole body off the ground. His father held out his wing quickly, and clutching that, Crane managed to shakily balance his body upright.

"To what do I owe this hasty visit?"

"W-well, I wanted to ask a question, actually."

Qiang smiled, before turning on his heels and walking back to his table. "Must be _some_ question if you had to break in through my window."

"Yeah, sorry about th-"

"You won't be able to do that in the future though," Qiang continued distractedly, while skimming over the orders he wrote, "It wouldn't be a bad idea to acquaint yourself with the door."

Crane's blinked at the interruption. He closed his beak with a clack and flexed his folded wings. "The future, right, about that… it's _kinda_ what I'm here for, actually."

Interest peaked, Qiang turned his head back to his son. "Oh?"

"Yeah, so Bao brought us your tea – it is still really great, don't worry dad - and he happened to mention the small fact that I'll be… moving in. _Apparently_."

Qiang blinked, fully turning around to face Crane. "Yes? Is there something wrong-"

"Besides everything?!" Crane almost shouted, and his father had to rear his head back at the sudden heatwave he felt hitting his face, "Sorry, I mean, not everything of course. I would very much like to live with you again dad, and Bao too, but I _can't_ move in. I have a responsibility in the Valley and f-friends. I can't just leave them!"

At first Qiang didn't understand what the outburst was for. His son couldn't honestly refuse the calling of family, right? But then it suddenly dawned on him that yes, twenty years was more than enough for one to establish similar familiar bonds with even the most different people. While the father in him wanted to clap his wings together at the concept of his son finding such close friends, his newfound duties stopped him from doing just that – history had shown that intimate connections often times don't coincide well with the good of everyone. Still, he had been a father first, and he never was the man of firm words and bloody knuckles.

Qiang frowned sadly and approached his shaky son.

"Jia," he said, resting a wing on the Master's shoulder, "I understand. I really do. And… if there were any other way, where your friends could stay too, I would support it in a heartbeat. But there isn't. They have an obligation to defend the Valley of Peace, while you have a new one now."

Crane blinked at him, his body feeling limper and limper as his father spoke.

"N-new obligation?"

"Yes, you are an heir, Jia, you are _the_ Prince now. This binds you to Lin'an."

Qiang watched all fight that his son had in him dissipate, making way to the seeping, void-like, monstrous purple hopelessness, and he felt his own fragile heart convulse at this sight.

"Oh, son… I'm truly sorry."

He couldn't help it, he had to listen to his impulses. Drawing Crane close to his body, he embraced his son, holding him tightly. The warmth of the younger avian's body was comfortable, even if a little _too_ warm. He was just about to say something reassuring once again, when much to his surprise, Crane ripped himself out of his wings forcefully, pushing his body away and stepping back from the older bird like a prey on the run. His widened eyes found his son's, and it left him confused; why was Jia looking at him with such apprehension, such… _despair?_

"I… I didn't ask for this," Crane mumbled under his breath, and his eyes went down to his right wing. Qiang didn't see the inside of that appendage, but there must have been _something_ , if his son's intense look was anything to go by.

"I didn't ask for _any_ of this. I didn't ask to hurt people, or… to destroy their lives."

"…Son?"

"I didn't ask to become the Prince."

Crane backed up, before jumping back suddenly, right on top of the windowsill.

"I sure as the Heavens didn't ask to be an unstable _freak_."

"Wha-"

A big gust of wind blew on Qiang's feathers, while his only son left. The gust pushed the window outwards with such force, that upon smashing into the wall, the glass broke, and the latches punctured into the surface, effectively getting stuck.

Qiang could only blink. His overwhelmingly increasing worry made it hard to move.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Story Miscellaneous  
> #25: Pay attention to two things: Colors and Elements. The more passionate KFP fans know what I mean by 'Colors'.  
> #26: The story had officially reached its middle point. But it ain't the lowest yet...  
> #27: Merry Christmas to my Readers!  
> #27A:...and a Wonderful New Year!
> 
> Chapter 9 Miscellaneous  
> #1:Shortest Chapter so far. With a mere words. The Author will try to keep the length around there.  
> #2:Speaking of, Tunxi is once again, a real life place; Tunxi district is a central district of the city of Huangshan, Eastern China.  
> #3:Hint hint, eagle eyed viewers... Have a field day with this chapter.  
> #3A: 'It's funnier to see people trying to guess how many mice live in the Palace, but it's even funnier how none of them ask: Is there even any?'


	10. 4th day: But He Took The Pain

Shifu was a tad bit tired.

Maybe it was just his old age. Maybe it was the fact that he hadn't really slept since their journey. Or maybe because he had been rigorously searching for a single clue, a whisper, a piece of note, _anything_ that could finally shed light on what Master Crane was currently struggling with.

Whichever excuse his stale mind fancied at the moment.

The library was at least a breathtaking sight. From the moment the red panda stepped onto the yellow marble, he knew he was in a place of great importance; the clear, subtly lemon-scented air was a telltale sign of a well-cared for room. His head had been turning all over the place, trying to help his sight reach every wonderful detail of China's main source of historical knowledge. Tall rows after rows of scroll shelves lined up before him, the carpeted space between each wide enough for even an ox or a rhino to move without a hitch. What caught Shifu's eye was the amazing accuracy of the shelves' placement; neither stood closer nor further from its kin. The shelves themselves were made of polished and waxed wood, painted to a vigorous yellow shade, and dozens of beige scrolls filled neatly into their criss-cross patterned holes.

Walking between the imposing structures, Shifu had to admit – he felt nigh illiterate. The library went on and on and on, vast but not never ending. A shelf had to hold at least a thousand scrolls, and it was only a singular one; who knew just how much knowledge lived in this one spacious room alone? And what's best, the people of the past ordered them by the topics of the scrolls they held, which meant that he didn't even need to worry about a 'drop of tea in the river' scenario. _Especially_ after Bao Luo had kindly pointed him a direction to follow.

It was all too perfect, Shifu thought he would find a solution.

He thought wrong.

Even with the occasional help from his fellow Masters, they still couldn't find a single utterance of Elemental Chi or of the Vase. It wasn't in the Martial Arts section, nor the Religious section, and he was already almost finished with the Spiritual section. It's like the ground had swallowed it, never to be seen again. That is, if there really were a scroll like this, or he had just wasted precious days.

He did not want to think about that possibility.

So there he was, the tired elderly red panda standing slouched in front of a shelf from the Spiritual section, reading yet another useless scroll. This was a particularly cruel one, as it had the word 'CHI' painted at the back of it with huge letters. Shifu got his hopes up quickly, yet it turned out to be nothing but the history of its discovery, which he didn't particularly care for at the moment. The only reason he didn't shove it back where it came from was that it had Master Oogway's handwriting, which meant that he held something he hadn't read from the great turtle as of yet.

Already tired mentally, he strolled back towards the exit of the library, fully intent on taking a break for now. He also had recently gotten a notice from his Majesty to meet in the Council Room at noon, so he thought; he might as well be the first one there. Before he could get out of the maze of shelves, however, a voice made his large ears twitch.

"Excuse me? Mister Servant?"

"…Me?"

"Yeah, you, so… have you seen a red panda around, like…" there was a pause, and Shifu closed the scroll with a groan, "… _this_ tall."

"Um…"

"Yeah, he is kind of small, probably a red panda thing. It must be, because I'm a panda too and look at me! I totally tower above him. Or maybe it's just his age. Wait, did I mention that he is really old?"

Shifu rolled his eyes. _Po…_

"He could still kick my butt anytime, he's Master Shifu in the end."

"Excuse me, but… that's his name?"

"Yeah, his name. I don't know why anyone would want to be called 'Teacher Master' either, but trust me, he _does not_ follow what his name implies. He even became _my_ student, I taught him chi! How cool is that?!"

"It's called a title, _Dragon_ _Warrior_ ," Shifu spoke up, walking out from behind the shelves, "And you don't exactly look the draconic type either, do you now?"

His jab fell flat; turns out, the panda had been facing the other direction, his body covering the servant from Shifu's view.

"Yeah, strange, it's like he is right next to me. Did you notice his tone? As I said, kinda rusty."

" _Po_ ," Shifu suddenly appeared next to them, effectively scaring both him and the now identified gazelle servant out of their skins. He sharply nodded to the latter who, after a moment of shock, bowed and scrambled away. The red panda then turned back to give the stink-eye to the remaining delinquent.

"Oh! H-hi, I didn't see… you… How long have you been standing here?" Po asked, awkwardly fiddling with his fingers. He had a difficult time making eye contact with Shifu.

"For some time, you could say that," Shifu said, sighing finally and looking away, "Been around these days."

With that, he sidestepped the round warrior, and continued his walk towards the halls outside, Po hot on his hills.

"No success?"

The annoyed thinning of the brows was the panda's only answer.

"Right - Oh yeah! You probably want to know why I'm here."

Shifu shrugged. "The thought did pass me."

"Well… I've been having some troubles with Crane and his personal training. Nothing serious, just -small things, you know."

Stepping into those great corridors that would lead them to their destination, he opened the chi scroll once again, resuming its read-through. Nonchalant as he may have looked, he turned his ears towards his companion. Said Master decided not to be left out, so he closed the distance between them and tilted his head to the side, skimming through the scroll too with pretended investment.

"So you know how I planned all these 'layers' for Crane to go through?"

"Mhmm."

"We may have… bumped into one of these… _small…_ things," the panda's voice took on an apologetic tone here, and Shifu smiled to himself.

"A small one?"

"…Yeah."

_Now_ was the time for Shifu to raise his eye from the scroll, looking right at the panda's face with a lifted eyebrow. Po, obviously aware of this, quickly looked back up, touching the petals of a red flower plant they were passing along the way. He tried to act natural, something more unbothered, but then he accidentally ripped off a petal and upon trying to put it back and failing – the petal kind of stuck to his paw – he gave up. Shifu raised his head to gaze at Po, prompting the panda to break the poor facade. The longer he did that, the more twitchy Po became, until-

" _OKAY,_ okay, it's a big one, all right?! Crane is just too sad to learn, and I have no clue what to do!"

The news was not a surprise to the elder Master. The avian's deteriorating mood had been an ongoing process even before the accident.

"And I tried to encourage him, and I guess those kinda worked – he tries harder after that, maybe makes one of his jokes too, but… I don't know what to do, Shifu. He couldn't even control a little drop of water, and it made him look so _down_."

Po looked back at him pleadingly, his otherwise joyous pools holding a mocking representation of what it truly had been.

"Which then started moving, because sadness equals water for chi it looks like, but still…" the panda's posture dropped wordlessly, the petal swaying onto the ground, "What do I do, Shifu?"

_Ah, so that's the problem._

The elder Master in question closed his scroll, slowly this time. Stopping in his tracks, he clasped his hands behind his back, and looked right into Po's eyes.

"So you think you are failing, Dragon Warrior?"

"I wouldn't call it failing, rather a…" Po tried to pretend for searching for a word, before a sigh escaped lips, "…yeah, failing-"

A 'wack' sound broke the dull silence between the walls of the hall, a stinging pain cutting into Po's left forearm simultaneously.

" _OW_! Hey! Why did you do that?"

Shifu smirked with the scroll held up in his hand, ready for another smack at the panda's pudgy exterior.

"So you think you, _the teacher of the Furious Five_ , are failing?"

"Yeah, that was kind of the point of my heartfelt confession."

"And you think that's a bad thing, why?"

Po blinked at the smaller Master, confused, still scratching the part of his arm that had been previously hit.

"Because failing is usually a bad thing… no?"

The panda's uncertain pitch made Shifu's smile soften.

"Po, listen to me," and by the soft look the Dragon Warrior was giving him, _he was listening_ , "I will not be 'Oogway Two' as you like to call me, so I'll be direct. There is an old saying, 'Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but rising _every_ _time_ we fall.'"

This seemed to impact Po, because for once, he kept quiet. By the downcast, blank look at the random red petal still laying on the ground, with those softly bitten lips, Shifu knew; the true meaning of the saying was manifesting inside the Dragon Warrior.

"When I leave the realm of the Living," Shifu continued under his breath, "You will have to take over all my duties, Po, and that's not something to take lightly. Governing the whole valley, keeping the peace, training and spreading the word of Kung Fu; these will all be responsibilities on your shoulders. That's why I tasked you with both training the Five at first, and now this seemingly impossible task. Learn how to fail, so you could learn how to 'rise' once more."

Po crouched down. He carefully grabbed the lone red petal and walked back to the plant he had accidentally snatched it away from. Finding the bud he had offended, he infused a little Chi in his paws, and made the flower bloom in a yellow light until it re-accepted the petal as its own. His features remained passive, yet thoughtful the whole time.

"You think I'm ready for all that?"

Shifu smiled.

"You are close. Once you realize one fundamental thing about being a teacher, you will be ready."

"What's that?"

Shifu laughed at the Dragon Warrior's sudden curious tone, his smile morphing into a smirk.

"Let's just say, our job description doesn't exactly say we _have_ to accept everyone who asks for knowledge. Sometimes… there are better candidates."

Po turned around and blinked at his old Master.

"Wait, you mean we can refuse students? That sounds… kinda mean."

Shifu shrugged, before reopening the scroll and resuming his stroll towards a pair of stairs, leading upwards.

"It only sounds mean if you say it like that, but I will let you figure out the rest."

Po panicked and run after him. "No! Please, Shifu, I must know! Didn't you say you would be direct? What happened to that?!"

"I have to have some fun too," Shifu thought he had won. He usually did when it came to verbal spars with his ex-students.

"Yeah, well, not much fun looking around for a scroll that has been in Crane's room for days all along, huh?"

And Shifu stopped before he could make the first step up, frozen. His ears must have been playing tricks with him. He must have misheard it. But then he turned to the now smug-faced Po, who definitely just turned the tides against the elder, and he knew; he had misheard nothing.

"The _What_? Why? Where did he find it?!"

"Oh, _he_ didn't, Bao did. He knew about it after hearing you talk to Crane's dad, so he _kinda_ confronted us and now it's in Crane's room."

Like fool-minded oxes rushing headfirst into one another, the puzzle stitched itself into completion. Shifu facepalmed.

"Of course he did," his hand slid down his face, before he resumed his march, albeit slower than before, "I'm guessing he already knows of Master Crane's 'condition'?"

Po cringed slightly at the mention of that, which was only an insignificant victory amongst the disaster for Shifu. "He has a surprisingly awesome skill at figuring out things from the smallest of clues. Apparently he had suspected it from the moment we met."

" _Of_ _course_ he did. Now come, his Majesty is waiting for us."

* * *

The Council room was buzzing with topics, which, in her short stay, was not a weird spectacle. On one side sat the Eunuchs with their signature snow-white robes, laughing in mirth and buddying together like a bunch of chickens on the way to their doom. The figure, lounging in her own fancy chair next to the noble's section, sipped her sweet tea, the refreshing taste easy on her tongue. She crossed her legs in front of her and watched.

She liked them.

Old as they may have been, but they sure knew how to reach their goals. Giving up body parts for political power? That's the spirit! She should definitely hire some of these 'Eunuchs' in her own government. While she did hear that they can be as annoying as a slightly misplaced needle, she did not particularly care; she had the means to make them behave. They may have knew how to gain power and how to use it, but did they know how to keep it?

_That_ she doubted.

She turned lazily in her chair, her eyes looking to the other side of the room, to the nobles. She admittedly liked them less, only because they had done absolutely nothing to get their status. Though - she mused, looking into her cup - being lucky enough to be born into any high ranking family is an admirable feat. Plus, they did know how to keep what luck had given them; just don't get disowned and marry for money, easy as a rice cake. Speaking of rice cakes, she should really ask Qiang to make some.

A total fool he may have been, he made one mean rice cake.

She sipped her tea once again, adjusting her back on the comfy seat meanwhile. Speaking of the almost elder avian, she searched him up with her own set of amber eyes. It didn't take much time to find him in the fancy seat, something Dragon throne something something, and she smiled when the figures huddling around Qiang came into her view.

_The 'Furious Five', huh?_

They were basically the only reason she didn't die of boredom. Even with their vast political power, the Eunuchs would undoubtedly scatter in fright if she so much as showed her sharp teeth. But this Five; oh, they made her hopeful. _Of course_ she heard about the astounding feats of their team, all those victorious battles against entire hordes, warlords, rogue generals, even the clash against that diva Shen and the 'Maker of Widows' Kai. All those stories of the tiger's brute force, the monkey's schemes, the snake's elegance; it all made her mouth water.

But she couldn't take a better look. _Yet_. Initially, she thought the whole Jade Palace brigade was present, Furious Five _and_ the fabled Dragon Warrior - she may not have looked the part, but she was shaking inside from excitement at just hearing the title – but it turned out to be untrue. The third, unknown avian was sadly not the Dragon Warrior, but Qiang's own lapdog who seemed to have gotten buddy-buddy with the Five. Thus the reason why she was sitting there, in the shadows, delaying her entrance and waiting for said legendary figure and one Master Shifu, another name that made her sure this entire negotiation and tournament were not a waste of time.

So she waited.

Also, who would have thought? Qiang's son was Master Crane, _the_ Master Crane all along. Now _that_ was a welcome twist in her eyes. A figure, whose prowess in battle became such widespread legend that it was basic knowledge in her province by then. Her generals had even opted to teach Kung Fu's White Crane technique to their avian soldiers, or as much as they could. And where were they now? She had an entire legion of birds, capable of making entire countries kneel before her.

And now she was looking at the person who made it all possible. She resisted the urge to just swipe him away, and torture his mind until he did nothing but sing her county's praises, until he wore armor with her insignia, and fought with her soldiers. But alas, she couldn't do that; she had a deal with papa bird, and she intended to go through with that deal. She wasn't one to break any kind of arrangement.

Betrayal, in the end, was the most blatant form of weakness.

The big doors moved, and two people stepped in; a panda and what looked like an ancient gremlin, both clad in robes and tunics with the same theme of the Five's. Her first thought was a simple ' _what the hell',_ her eyes dumbly blinking at the two newcomers. Then the room quieted into mere whispers, the Furious Five ceasing their chat too. Even Qiang looked up from whatever parchment he had been busy explaining and quickly closed everything up.

She straightened up in her seat. Damn, was she reading the situation right? These two were the Dragon Warrior and the Shifu guy?

The Empire kept on surprising her.

The moment the two arrived in front of Qiang's table, the Five switched places with the gremlin behind them, joining the panda with a causality that erased all doubts from her, and the Emperor finally left his table.

"Sincerest welcomes to all of you. I apologize for the hasty call, but I received an urgent request I couldn't say no to."

"It's quite all right, your Majesty," the gremlin spoke up in that old, patient voice from the side.

"What's up?" the panda asked easily, and her brows went up the sky. She could officially cross 'hearing people make small talk with the Fancy Seat' out of her bucket list. Then she had a thought; she should have been the first one to do that to begin with.

Damn.

"The Lady from the North herself had requested to see all of you, face-to-face. Apparently, yesterday's encounter fueled her already omnipresent desire to meet you."

_Sigh._ Being an Emperor must be a drag. How do you say so little with so many words? 'The Lady wants to meet you' bam, done. No precious breath or time wasted on fancy words.

Whatever. This was as good of time as any to introduce herself. She gently put her now empty cup on the armrest of her chair and stood up. Stretching her lean, feline body, her golden fur puffing back up, she moved out of the shadows with invisible steps. Her calculating eyes watched the nine people in front of her, anticipating the first one to take notice of her. Unsurprisingly, Master Tigress and Master Shifu were the first two to glance at her, both tensing up the moment they realized just who she was. _Surprisingly_ , Qiang's lapdog was the next one to find her, and the little pissant had the gall to look like he was proud of her. Like he had already known she was around and waited for her to move first. She grinned back at him, showing all her teeth, even the golden ones.

The lapdog grinned back. And that was enough for her to like him.

"Thank you for the lavish announcement, it really is an honor, _buuut_ I have waited more than enough."

Qiang looked up at her. All the warmth has left his stature.

"My apologies," he borderline spat at her, "Please, do enjoy making acquaintance with my side of the deal."

She gave him a sweet smile, one that he returned with a frown. Oh well, at least Qiang wasn't afraid of being passive aggressive with her. Raising her striped paw, she immediately pointed at the panda's direction.

"You, in the black and white, what's your name?"

He pointed at his self, looking a bit startled. She smiled with all her teeth once more, and the panda gulped - yet he stepped forward.

"I'm Po Ping. The Dragon Warrior."

Huh. So she guessed right.

"Truly? That's a powerful title you have here. Do you think you deserve it?" she asked, and the surrounding room blanched, even the Eunuchs, with some of the panda's friends glaring at her now. She perfectly knew what she had just questioned; all this attention flattered her, really.

"Eh," he began, oblivious to the verbal jab, "I like to believe I do my 'Dragon Warrior'-ness justice. Literally! Serving justice is what me and the guys kinda do, and we _rock._ "

"My, someone's bouncy," she said under her breath, "I did not expect you to be a panda though. You must be something else then. I do have a question, if you don't mind?"

"Sure. Lay it on me."

She smirked. "News travel slow up north, and they tend to get altered by the time I hear it. I could never be sure what is false and what is true these days, you understand. So I just have to clarify – are you the teacher of the Furious Five now, or is it just a work of peasant lips?"

"I wasn't always. It was mostly Shifu, but… yeah. I am now."

Hook, line aaand _sinker._ She was suddenly in Po's face, cheshire grin splitting her face and her deafening purr did nothing but breed the thickening tension in the air. The panda looked bewildered, wider, confused eyes looking back at her head that definitely intruded his personal space.

"Well then. Hope your students do well, because if they cannot impress me, I _will_ make sure that all of China knows that the great Dragon Warrior has lost his merit."

She cherished how the poor guy recoiled.

"Hey, w-what?!"

Too late, she had already stepped back and turned to Mini-Qiang.

"And just what do we have here?"

She towered above him; the Masters backtracking to give the two of them space. Unexpectedly, something made the grin melt off her face the moment she stepped close; It was her instinct, tugging at the back of her mind, whispering warnings for some reason.

_Hm._

"You have an interesting aura around you, did you know that?"

Crane's eyes widened, and his wings tightened closer to his body. That was all she needed to see to know that not only did the itsy-bitsy birdie very much know it, it was something big. Big and powerful enough to set _her_ warning signs off, a thing that hadn't happened since she had taken over her province.

And she was _living for it_.

"Oh, I definitely am keeping an eye on you, darling. By the way, I don't know what you did yesterday, but I've never seen Na be _this_ excited about anything in… ever. She just could not stop gushing about how powerful you are. She went as far as telling me that either she goes against you or she quits."

The Lady watched as a heavy gulp went down Crane's long throat. She smiled at him sweetly.

"Do not disappoint me."

A shallow nod was her only answer, and suddenly, he couldn't meet anyone's eyes. If it hadn't been the Master Crane in front of her, who apparently had some tricks up his sleeves that she could not for the life of her figure out, she would have definitely slapped him for acting so weak-minded.

Her eyes went to her left side, where Master Monkey and Viper stood. The snake looked plain pathetic with that broken tail, and the Lady would have pitied her, had it not been because her opponent was just as injured as she was. She actually kind of looked forward to that fight. True willpower only came when your life was in grave danger and you were handicapped, baring you from escape. Still, she couldn't just let it be without a little show.

Her paw went up and behind her, grasping something strapped onto her back. She raised it for all to see, and Monkey's eyes may have just fallen out of their sockets.

It was his Bo staff.

"Li had found this on amongst the crown of the tree. I believe it's yours, no?"

Monkey nodded shakily, but didn't move to take his staff back. She shrugged; if he didn't want it…

_SNAP!_

All watched awed and horrified as she snapped the staff into two like a chopstick, then discarded carelessly in front of the simian, landing on the cold marble with echoing thuds.

"Trust me, this garbage would have been useless against Li."

Monkey, now on his knees, slowly took hold of the two ruined sides of his ex-weapon – the same one he had left behind without a care. Yet pressure swelled around his eyes, tears gathering under them, because he realized he forgot something essential; this staff made him unique. This staff was the one thing that made him stand out from his friends. _This_ _staff_ made him Master Monkey.

Now it was gone.

The Lady glanced at Viper and her smile widened at how the snake's entire long body shook, watching the broken weapon with the same horror as everyone. She was about to say something, when-

"HEY! What the hell do you - Who do you think you are?!" a shout came from the other side, and suddenly her shoulder felt heavier. She turned her head and – oh, if it weren't the bug.

"I don't think I have to-!"

"Shut your mouth, you wench!" the bug suddenly took her by the vest, and grasped her.

She needed a moment to realize it was not just some bug, but _Master_ _Mantis_ holding her, just blinks away from throwing her through the Council Room. Then, when she lost the safety of ground that she took for oh-so granted, crashing into the double doors so hard, the hinges snapped off and the wooden pieces fell back with her into the corridor outside, she smiled ear-to-ear.

She could faintly hear the gasps and cries of outrage from the room, but the sound of her blood pumping through her veins drowned them out.

"H-ho, ho! M-Mantis, it's okay, it's-"

"NO! She broke your staff, dude, she cannot just walk away!"

"Please Mantis… it's not worth it."

She massaged his shoulder – the part of her body that met the doors – and sat up. Her neck made popping noises as she twisted it.

"Oh, do I _ever_ love people with fire in them!"

All eyes suddenly turned to her now approaching form, wide, confident steps moving her body forward. It's like her resumed presence emitted a new glow, filling all corners of the great room, and this glow snuffed out every sound of outrage and panic.

Her face had never been so sore from smiling so wide. Master Mantis' showcase of strength, Master Crane's radiating aura, Qiang's open defiance, and this lap dog not only _not_ backtracking in fear, but reciprocating her provocative gestures? They sure as hell forgot to mention she would be walking amongst true men of culture! She should feel foolish to have underestimated the Empire, and she did, somewhere deep in her twisted mind. But did she care? No! She was too busy eyeing all these wonderful people who had brought such joy to her, blinking was overrated anyway!

Nothing could have ruined it.

…

Then Master Tigress stepped forth.

"Excuse the behaviour of Master Mantis, please. He always had problems keeping his temper. I assure you, Lord, that it won't happen again."

The grin froze on her face. She turned her head towards the fellow tiger who stepped forward, bowing before her respectfully, and the Lady finally blinked.

Was that… _bootlicking_ she was hearing?

More so… _from Master Tigress?_

"Pathetic. _"_

The moment she said this was the moment her fist impacted with the oblivious tiger and sent her upper body flying. The Master righted herself though in time, making her body stop in a backward bending bridge pose. The Lady pounced on her with a savage, feline roar, but Tigress recovered and hastily somersaulted back. The once confident and collected Lady now had her claws ready to kill as they teared into the expensive rug on the floor where Tigress once was. She gazed up, meeting the Master's eyes. Her lost mind felt a surge of amusement at the startlement the fellow feline gave her. Then it all disappeared when the delicious scent of fresh blood reached her nose, and her leg muscles tightened for yet another pounce.

Then she had to stop herself, because suddenly a wall of Masters stood before her, all in perfect stance and harmony. She would have probably tried to get to her prey anyway, but there were one more small, but significant thing that rubbed her the wrong way;

A robed wing. In front of her chest.

"I believe we are _done_ here."

The strict voice of Qiang made her snap out of her blood rush. She straightened out, finally opting a pose that looked more civilized than wild.

"Aw, shucks. You always know how to mess up a lady's fun," She tried giving him a coy, sly smirk, expecting the middle-aged bird to react as per usual.

That did not happen.

"No, I repeat, _we are done here_ ," Qiang said, still keeping both the furious glare and his extended wing before her. The smirk disappeared off her face.

"Your crew of misfits has been making an insufferable amount of problems to both me and the people of the Palace. I tolerated it in perspective of your rougher culture, but this is where I draw the line. I will not tolerate outright violence towards anyone, much less to my son or his friends. Once the tournament is over, with no respect to the results, you, and your warriors are to leave this place immediately."

With that, his wing went back to its casual place, holding his other wing under the golden sleeves on his chest.

Both the Lady's brows scaled her forehead hearing the tone, the words, _the look_. She glanced at the Masters, now only three of them consisting the angry wall (even the panda, the expression looking funny on him). She faintly heard whisperings from the other side, probably the bug and the snake helping their bleeding comrade.

She looked back. "…I don't think you are in any place of making demands, Qiang. This deal only happened because of the goodness of my heart. I thought we both knew that."

"I'm not making demands. I'm merely enforcing the rules of my house. Isn't that one of your culture's main drives? 'Defend your home as much as you'd defend your loved ones'?"

_Ah, damn. Sly bird._

If it were anyone else, they would have their skin boiling after such verbal humiliating. And getting your own traditions fed back to you, after you've forced it onto countless of people in the past? That could make even the most modest ones snap. But not her.

The one thing she did was nodding approvingly.

"In that case… Please, accept my sincerest of apologies for my _violence_. I will make sure that the guys will have their stuff packed and ready for the moment we officially get kicked out. Good day."

She looked sideways and found a pair of icy blue. The lap dog was gazing back at her, the one who showed her more guts than any servant she had the misfortune of meeting combined. But instead of ire making those frost in his eyes pierce through her seven different ways, they just looked bland, sad. Disappointed. She found herself looking away. Waving her fingers to Qiang as a mock goodbye, she skipped out of the Council Room, dozens of pairs of widened eyes following her every move as she jumped over the remains of the once tall door, and left.

Qiang watched the spot where her tail disappeared from view, then sighed. He turned back, and saw as Master Tigress' bleeding ear was being taken care of by Master Mantis, whose shaking forearms made it all the more difficult. Master Viper stroked the back of the tiger soothingly, but by the painful smile on her face, her tail was not a fan of that action. Monkey, Po and Jia – the last three to oppose the Lady – they relaxed. But it was not of relief, far from it; their sour and shallow faces told a different story. He could have said some encouraging words, or even an apology, but there were bigger things to worry about.

Like the fact that after her departure, both sides of the Council Room exploded into deafening arguments.


	11. 4th day: One He Could Not Feign

_~ 30 years before, in Lin'an ~_

The little colt jumped at the croaky table. His frail wings desperately grasped at the edge of the furniture, trying to pull his body up. After a great pull by himself and landing stomach-first, the one-size-too-many helmet slipped sideways on his head. He raised himself with a little groan; the headwear swayed threateningly, but - he managed. Why were all tables so tall? _Right_ , because people were tall. Or he was just that small. Whipping his body around and standing on his tip-toes, he peeked out of the window.

Outside, he saw the gate of their home, the one that lead to the street running along their compound. It was open wide at the moment, so the little colt could see the people passing along. His awed eyes got lost in the hordes of the many species in all these colorful and nice attires walking left and right, all hasty to reach their destination. He could spot some farmers, recognizable thanks to the pointy fork-tools they carried, the merchants with their big bags and fancy hats, and the builders because they were shirtless. He could even distinguish who were wives of others.

They trotted for some reason.

The colt found the edge of his beak turn down; at least they knew what they were. Even the wives, with the mean treatment most had to endure from their husbands – except his Ma, because Pa was the best and he would never hurt her – they knew where they belonged.

But him? No, no he did not. He always heard other kids boast about how they would take over their family and lead them to greatness, or how they will marry someone rich and handsome and make their parents proud. He wanted to make his parents proud too! But then there he was, having no idea how or what he would aim to become. He had just recently tried Kung Fu, and that was pretty neat and awesome (even if it hurt), but Ma would get really sick if he continued that, so that was out of the question.

But then, what will he do?

" _Oh, Jiaaa~_ " his Ma's beautiful voice swam through the air, making him turn his head. Her shining face glimpsed into their dining room, finding him with her reddish eyes, "Ah! Finally found you darling. Hungry?"

"Uhm, no Mama," he said lowly, looking down, "Were you searching for me?"

"Well - yes, I was. But I found you, hadn't I?" Crane was old enough to notice her smile thin out, "Just… wanted to let you know that Pa will be out for a few days,"

The little colt looked up at her with panicked eyes. "Again? He just came back! He can't go! Please Ma, I-"

He quivered in place. Seeing this, his Ma hurried up to him with quick steps, her wings extending. Upon arriving, she slowly removed the metal helmet and carefully scooped him up within her wings, the little colt melting into the familiar chest. His watery eyes began to leak.

"I know, darling, I know..."

"He is always going away, why?"

She sighed as she cradled her sniffing son in an embrace. "I don't know… What I do know is, however, that he feels terrible about needing to leave again and will do everything in his power to come back as soon as possible."

Jia had his head laid down, listening to the calm heartbeat of his Ma.

"Whatever he is doing," she continued saying, now whispering into his ear, "I am sure it's for the good of us. You know how much he loves us, right?"

Jia's mind wandered to memories of times his father would go out his way and defend her Ma's honor in front of all kinds of people, be it privileged rich or bitter poor. Then at night, he would scoop up both her and Jia, and cry, telling them how scared he had been. Telling them, even if frightened to the bones, how he would go far to make sure both of them had the best lives possible. They would hug him until he began softly snoring between them, and Jia would never feel safer than in those moments.

So he nodded.

"And we love him too. So we'll support him, right? Show him that… whatever is keeping him away, he can always come back to us. Right?"

Crane felt himself smile; he nodded into her breast once more.

"That's my Little Jia," she giggled and broke the hug. A grin dragged her feminine face up, one that radiated with familiar warmth. She set him back down onto the table, and looked around, "What were you doing in this room if you are not hungry, huh? I can't imagine anything else to do here."

"O-oh, I was just… watching people outside," he said, glancing back at the gate. His Ma turned her head and did the same, lowering his neck to her son's level.

"And? Anything interesting? Did old man Xie parade around without pants again?"

"No," The little colt giggled, "I think lady Lu locked him away."

"She better be. Heaven knows, the amount of decency that man has... But does he care? Bah! Such staggering morals."

She found herself glancing at her son's face. Noticing how those yellow eyes tracked people outside, the eyes that looked so alike to her beloved Qiang's, she had an idea. She looked back ahead and nodded to herself.

"Say, honey, wanna do something interesting with me?"

Jia turned to her, surprised, cocking his tiny head to the side.

"O-okay?"

"Great! Come on," she said, stepping away from the windows. Jia looked back once, before hopping off the table, and even if a little uncertain on his feet at first, he followed his Ma's steps.

Soon they stepped through the doorway of their bedroom. Calling it a 'bedroom' would be a joke as there really were no beds in here; as cranes, they couldn't lay down to sleep like many others. They had one corner set up with a lantern and some blankets that they would drape around their bodies as they slept. Being a family of modest income, they couldn't afford to build an additional room to their house, so Jia had to sleep with his parents. But that was okay - he wouldn't have it any other way.

His father was always the knowledgeable kind, he had a personal library decking one wall. Most of those held boring scrolls about history, but his Pa presented them in a much more exciting way. Night after night, right before bedtime, his father would choose a scroll and tell a story version of its contents. He always managed to turn stale history into amazing tales, featuring valiant people of the past, and what's best; they were his own ancestors! Fan Lei was definitely his favorite character, a sentiment he very much shared with his Pa. Jia wanted to be like Fan Lei. He was just _so_ confident and strong, and people looked up to him and admired him!

His mother, on the other hand, was a woman of art. A second wall was littered with her mom's paintings; most of those depicted pretty flowers soaring on top of some water. Jia's favorite was the one with a pink flower that had these really tiny petals. What really sealed the deal for him was how his mom showed the flower dragging a pink shadow on the water surface. In the shadow was the reflection of the sun, making it the best masterpiece in the little colt's eyes.

Suddenly, something obscured his view. After a second of seeing nothing but beige, the thing moved back, showing his mother's excited face.

"Are you ready?"

He blinked up at her.

"For…?"

His Ma giggled, putting down the blank hanging scroll in front of him. It was like the ones she usually painted on. But why was she putting it in front of him?

"I was thinking. While your father is away, we could actually do something - so he would know we waited for him."

"Doesn't he know that already?" Jia asked, frightened at the concept that his Pa may think they don't want him back.

Thankfully, Ma was steadfast with an answer and a reassuring smile. "He does, but people are weird. The mind just can't rest in peace with just believing."

Awed, he watched as she put down several items on the ground; there were several brushes, some really long while some barely qualified as a stub. Then there were bowls, filled with black and pink goo – When did she even make all this?

"We are going to paint him a picture. _Together_."

Jia felt his jaw drop. He watched a short brush roll over to him with a stuttering shock, not knowing how to really react.

"B-but I can't paint!" he yelped, the whole sentence coming out like a cough, "Ma, please… I don't want to make something ugly for Dad. What if he-"

Then he stopped, because she wasn't paying attention – instead, she already made the first stroke on the paper. His eyes immediately zeroed on the smooth curve that appeared, the darling brush caressing the paper so gently and so lovingly, Jia almost felt jealous. It was like the surface flexed under it, trying to even itself out to welcome the holy touch. He watched as his beautiful mother repeated the pink curve again and again, starting from the same point but extending in a circular pattern, until a flower took shape. His Ma giggled at his look.

"Close your mouth darling, I thought you said you weren't hungry?"

His beak closed with a click.

"Now, it's not that hard. You take the brush, dip it into the ink, and go _crazy_ with it."

Crane gulped. He looked down at the stubby brush at his feet and hesitantly grabbed it with his small talons. He glanced up to see how Ma was holding hers; three talons kept the top of the handle, the fourth one balancing it from the underside. He mirrored it and found that it was actually quite comfortable; it completed his hold.

He dipped into the black ink and was mesmerized how the top of the brush came back with the same darkness dripping from its end. He suddenly felt his heartbeat quickening as the brush approached the scroll.

And then came the moment of contact.

The little colt's upper body felt the cold running up his spine. His ragged breaths slowed down, and he began moving the brush. He didn't even notice he was laughing. The smile stretched his face to its limits, trying to breakthrough and show just what a grand euphoria took place inside Jia. With a newfound vigor, he began _painting_.

Yan watched the events take place with a knowing, proud smile. And as the candles flickered in the background, she could only think: her son was a natural.

* * *

Meditating was good according to Tigress.

It chased away the demons. She needed that, 'cause never before had these demons reared their jeering faces at her so forcefully. It also helped her re-cultivate, something she desperately needed. The room they gave Tigress was grand, cozy, and with the thick walls, silent. Yet just the knowledge that people expected her to be there made searching for a new place a great idea.

Thus the reason she was currently balancing at the top of the Palace's roof.

Steadying on one leg under her, she kept the other held up to her waistline, and leaned slightly towards the other direction, creating perfect balance. She had been like this since the events that evening. Just her and her thoughts. Now with one half of the sky showing a starry dark blue, while on the other the sun barely peeped over the horizon, only minutes away from disappearing completely, she started thinking of going back to her room. Surely no one would bother her there at night?

Then she heard it; the flutter of wings. A pair of taloned feet landed on the polished bricks of the roof with a click. She wondered why Crane would search her up-

"I admit, with your skill, you could probably win every Hide 'N' Seek out there."

Oh. It was just Bao Luo.

The clacks of him approaching reached her ears, and she waited for the inevitable snark or jab that was sure to come. She could already foresee it; 'little kitten' got publicly humiliated because she dared to apologize and show respect (as per customs should be), making everything Bao had thrown at her true. She didn't realize that she was no longer meditating, more like silently expecting these words.

Words that never came.

"Why are you here?" she blurted out after the silence stretched itself, yet didn't bother opening her closed eyes.

"Well, it's funny actually - and I'm serious - I came here to make a… _compromise_ with you."

Surely he must be joking.

"And I know it sounds unreal, 'cause we both had perfectly established that hating each other is something we just do _._ But hear me out; I'm not doing this to make it up to you, or because I took some kind of superficial pity in you after today, and _definitely_ not because of some kind of greater good that I feel compelled to follow. I'm doing this for Jia."

_That_ got her attention.

"What's Crane has to do with anything?" she asked sharply, finally prying one eye open to look at him; same tunic he wore that signified his status as the Emperor's Right-Hand man.

"Well, how about a little time travel darling?" his infuriating smile came back to his beak, and his feathered appendages opened wide, like a showman ready to captivate its audience, "Once, in our lifetime, lived a tiger and a crane. Darkness and light shied away into greyness from their hate to each other. The tiger thought the crane was nothing but a jokester, who was too full of himself and did not care about acting properly. The crane thought the tiger was nothing but a stuck-up kitten, abusing the gift kind old people gave her. Things escalated into a heated debate, and it looked like their relation was doomed for good."

Tigress snorted at that and closed her eyes once again. As far as her knowledge went, that's where it all ended.

"Little did either know, their mutual friend, another, _more_ magnificent crane saw all this, and cornered the first crane. He begged him with beautiful, big, beady eyes to make up with the tiger, or at least not cause any more tension. The first crane, otherwise uncaring of who's feathers he rustled, relented seeing this, and agreed to the latter."

"Yet you are here. What changed?" Tigress asked under her breath.

"Nothing much…" Bao shrugged, but stopped halfway and held up a wing, " _Except,_ that the first crane fancied the magnificent one really much, and after calming down, he had time to think. But really, Jia has more than enough on his plate, he doesn't need to worry about us being at each other's throat. I think we can both agree on that."

"…So what now?"

"Obviously, we cannot just magically _like_ each other," Bao laughed like what he had proposed was the most ridiculous thing ever heard. Tigress found herself agreeing, "That would be a fool's talk. But instead of hating… how about we just agree on passive disliking, but otherwise tolerating the other's presence? Eh? For Jia's sake?"

Tigress didn't even know when had she turned her head fully to him. Her eyes went to the outstretched wing between them, allegedly waiting for her to grasp it as a finalization of their 'compromise'. Bao watched as the tiger's upheld leg was let down, her body evening out on the ground, and now he had her full attention.

He was far from stupid; even if he weren't adept in the art of reading people, he could have easily seen through the tough and uncaring facade. But did he blame her for trying to hide things? No, no he did not. He was far from being a saint either. The examples for this are worrying and much. One had just occurred now; he may not have been entirely truthful when he said he wasn't doing this whole compromise out of pity. Seeing her get humiliated in front of China's most influential people – and for once, he was not exaggerating – it did not exactly rub him in a good direction. Especially seeing that moment of panic, shock, and then this unnatural stoicism on Jia's face, witnessing all that - now _those_ threw this whole deal over the mast.

So yeah, 'pity' may have had a part in what was happening.

One question remained; was the tiger sensible enough to agree on a truce, or did she still stick to her darling traditions?

His answer came right when he felt her soft fur around his appendage. His blue eyes snapped up to her amber ones, and for the first time since their arrival, he saw why Jia liked her - what Jia had been always seeing.

"For Crane's sake."

Then she moved, jumping down, off the roof, dragging poor bird with her. While she landed on her feet gracefully, he did not have this luxury, and the bushes under the Palace's windows hurt more than he anticipated.

" _Youch_ ," he intoned, when he finally rustled out himself enough to peek out from the greens, "I reserve the right to feel offended and ask _'What_ _the_ _hell_?'"

"I'm willing to give the benefit of the doubt to you, Luo," Tigress said, standing a few paces away with her hands on her hips, "So if what you had said is true, then I believe we both own an apology to Crane. Unless you had already done that?"

Bao opened his beak – then slowly closed when he realized that he did, in fact, _not_.

"Whoopsieee."

After a bit of help from the tiger, he managed untangle himself from the bush, and the unlikely duo began making their way to their friend.

* * *

Tigress did not expect finding someone else before Crane's room.

"Po?" she asked, and the panda jumped at her voice.

"Oh, hi Tigress! Hi Bao! You guys made up?"

She ignored the waving bird behind her. "We have reached an arrangement that suited both of us."

"Really?" Po's eyes positively shone at that, "Great! Oh man, Crane will be thrilled! Once he opens up his door, that is…"

She sent a questioning look at the blank piece of wood in question. "He's not opening?"

"Nah. He hadn't come out all day after, y'know," a blink of awkwardness passed through his features, "I've been trying to get his attention for some time, but it's like he isn't even in here."

"He could be painting," Bao shrugged, "Phasing off from reality upon seeing a blank scroll is not beside him. One of his cutest traits, actually. Did that change in the years?"

"Not one bit…" Tigress murmured as she approached the door. She pushed in, but it didn't bulge. It was like something blocked it from the other side.

"See? Can't open it." Po said as Bao too joined the two of them.

"Huh. I remember him hiding away when things got rough, but… not blocking off visitors."

Po was about to answer, when a familiar noise reached their ears; doors getting obliterated. They snapped their heads to Tigress, who had her fist struck through the middle of the opening. She ripped it out from its frame and raised the now freely moving door to put it aside, then finally stepped into the dimly lit room. Considering that neither Viper, Mantis or Monkey appeared, questioning the sudden sharp noise, the rest of the trio simply shrugged and followed her inside.

Said inside was neatly done, as expected; Po's bed still had some wrinkles here and there, and there were some scars in the carpet where Crane had been sleeping. The avian Master's robe hung from the corner of the bed, still looking remarkably clean which was no surprise considering its rare use, but the room was spotless and tidy otherwise. The only out-of-place object was the big hanging scroll laying on the ground, a half-done picture decorating its face.

Tigress crouched in front of the palette and picked up something.

"He had just been here," she broke the silence. Turning to the boys, they could see one of Crane's brushes in her paw, red pigment still glistening freshly at the tip.

"Well, that certainly explains the open window," Po pointed out. Sure enough, the only window for this room was wide open, letting in the chilly air of the night.

"He looks like he was in a hurry too. But why…" Tigress wondered, ogling the dripping brush in her paw.

"All right, _so_. You guys know how there are lanterns in all your rooms?" Bao suddenly spoke up, gathering the rest's curious gazes. They needed a moment to understand his point, and when that happened, they snapped their heads up to look at the walls, searching for any irregularities. The corners of every single room had four lanterns that hung from hooks, giving a balanced, vague lighting at night. Tigress and Po quickly noticed that this room was lacking; the hook at the corner next to the window was missing its lantern.

"Guess he needed something to see outside for... whatever reason." Po shrugged.

"Not that," Bao shook his head, but his eyes stayed distant, "You know how these lanterns have this black foil covering that suppresses most of the light? And without it, they otherwise emit a light so clear, you can see them from afar?"

Tigress frowned at Bao's words. She had no clue what he was getting onto. She also had no clue why he was inspecting her, like-

Wait.

He was _not_ inspecting her. She stepped to the side, and his gaze stayed nailed to a point in the distance. He had been inspecting something _behind_ her the whole time. She turned on her heels, and now she had a clear view of the outside through the window. She also had a clear view of that far away yellow circle, held in the air by a dark figure as both it and the circle shrank in the distance. In a flash, she appeared in front of the window to grasp the flat sill, leaning out for a better look.

"That's him."

"For sure?" Po asked behind her.

"Yes. I can make out the beads on his ankles."

Then suddenly, the tiger jumped out the window.

"Woah, Tigress - what are you doing!?"

She took hold of the sill with one paw, planting her feet on the vertical wall outside. There she hung, still keeping a steely eye on the figure, showing her back to both Po and Bao.

"Crane had seen something and followed it. We are making sure he has backup."

"Right, but what if it's nothing?" Po asked frantically, "He _is_ from here. What if he just… went to see a place from his childhood? We may be intruding in his privacy."

Tigress turned her head to him. "Po, when had Crane ever stopped painting for anything?"

The panda looked like he wanted to argue, but that evaporated when he realized that _actually_ , she had a point. Bao joined in then, his words slightly muffled by the lantern he held in his beak. "As I said, _phasing off_. Whatever happened, it even made good ol' Jia snap out,"

Tigress chose this moment to jump off from the wall. She landed on the smooth marble square surrounding the palace, her claws rapidly clicking as she ran through the clean surface. Her darkening figure jumped over the red fence, then she was off to find Crane.

Po watched her worriedly.

"Won't she need a lantern too?" he asked Bao, who was already halfway through stepping outside the window.

"Last time I-" he grunted there and stopped. Raising his leg and taking hold of the lantern with his talons, he resumed, "Last time I checked, she was a tiger."

"…So?"

"Tigers are predators. What is the one ability that most predators possess, but us, foolish herbivores and some omnivores don't?" the bird asked with an expectant eyebrow, looking quite awkward with the dangling lantern on his feet as he leant on the windowsill.

Po's face brightened. "Oh right. Nightvision – wish I had that."

Bao smiled in mocking pride, before biting on the lantern once again and squeezing his body out of the window. Once gravity was about to take hold of him, he began flapping his wings until he ruled the air with his presence, hovering in front Po.

"Come on big guy, let's see what darling Jia is up to."

Po hesitantly reached out and grasped the bird's two feet. Bao pulled, his flaps becoming erratic and more slap-like as he tried to accommodate the new weight.

"Oh god, _I did not think this through.._." he coughed, beginning to raise the panda through the window, but Po's full mass dragged them downwards. Bao desperately quickened his already invisible wings, trying to keep them above the ground. The bird managed to turn around, and, following both the jumping figure of Tigress and the distant shadow of Crane, began their shaky flight.

They flew over the downtown area, a foil of grey darkness covering the buildings. The void-like, echoing quietness of the night surrounded them, the one where your only companion were the wandering ghosts of history and the bumps of your heart pumping blood through your veins. Bao's wings were powerful this time, its mere movements scattering and silencing all these ghosts. The farther they flew from the Palace and the downtown of Lin'an, the scarcer the compounds became, individual houses taking their place.

"This city is _huge_ …" Po murmured, watching the concealed ground move under him.

"Yeah. Lin'an _is_ an imposing lady. Shame she has a hideous sickness…"

"Huh? Did you say something?"

"Just thinking out loud."

In the distance, Crane's figure and the glowy orb dipped. Tigress's figure jumped on top of a particular high building, then dived, disappearing behind the same set of compounds the avian Master just did. Po wondered just what was his friend after, so far from the Palace and them.

Soon they arrived, but there was a problem - neither could spot their friends. The place they disappeared into was a modest compound, sporting the color palette of the sun; yellow and white, as opposed to the pulsing rainbow look of the ones in the downtown. It was obvious that this compound did not belong to anyone rich, as the piece of land sported barely two houses on it. One house was wider, had an attic, and faced the entrance of the whole compound. They guessed this was the one where the people lived or had lived. The other building paled compared to the other one, it barely qualified as a sizeable shack. It _was_ well-attended to though, both buildings standing on their foundations like they were newly built. A high fence ran around the edges of the land, a shy gate, facing the entrance of the main house, was the only way to enter.

Bao and Po inspected the place while hovering above a tree that grew from the garden of a neighboring house. Suddenly, something grasped Po's two feet and pulled. Both he and Bao yelped as somebody dragged them down into the crown of the tree, falling into the leaves as they disappeared from plain view. Once he found a way to balance on the branches, Po looked up at their captor, who turned out to be none other than Tigress; but she paid him no mind, she was busy scrutinizing the place in front of them.

"Crane is in that building." she said, nodding to the smaller house. He could only give her the benefit of the doubt, as the two windows of the shack in question were dark. Following her gaze, he got into the role really quickly - from the way his face turned serious.

"Are we sneaking?"

"Not exactly your strength, so we'll stay here and wait."

"Ah, yes. Staking out before the suspect's probable hiding place. A classic."

"Erm, excuse me?"

This was Bao's voice, and it came from downwards. The Masters glanced at him and almost did a double take; poor bird dangled upside down. His leg was stuck in a Y-shaped branch and its leaves, making him sway in the air. The now blown out lantern still hung from his beak, but now it hung into his face. Spitting it out, he revealed that bored and impatient look, telling them he was a _nything_ but amused at the current situation.

"First of all, what's up with you dragging me into random plants today? And second, both of you look great upside down, _not arguing about that_ , but I prefer looking into eyes over stomach. Unless you are Jia, because, heh, then you are great from all- _Youch_!"

His steadfast words were cut short when Tigress took hold of the branch and shook it, resulting in the inevitable fall of the avian. Luckily, the branches and leaves under his back held strong, so the bird, albeit with difficulties, stabilized his place in the tree's crown.

"Thank you," the avian grinned up at his hero.

Po's paw slowly came up to Tigress' shoulder and tapped it. "Uh, guys? Things are kinda moving."

Faces turning stoic, they looked through the green leaves just to see lights moving around in the shack. Then the door of the shack opened, and they waited with bated breath for their friend to come out. A dark figure stepped outside, and even the ones without nightvision knew that something was amiss.

The figure wore a robe – Crane didn't; he left it in his room.

"Who _is_ that?" Po asked, to which Tigress leaned closer.

"The one Crane's after."

While the panda and the tiger were guessing - or trying to - the identity of the stranger, Bao's mind was preoccupied with something else; that gate… looked oddly _familiar_. The inward opening door above the dirt ground tickled a distant part of his memory. He saw himself within blurry lines, almost a teenager, knocking on these same doors. He had a pouch hanging from his chest, with nothing but gunpowder in it. He wanted to make fireworks for some… reason… The gate opened and Yan Fan, Jia's mom looked outside with pleasant surprise written on her face, before letting him in…

_Oh._

_Uh-oh._

"Well, bend me sideways, break my legs and call me a pot of herbs, I did not expect to come back here!"

Po blinked at him, struggling to not only reply but to even form a response. He ended up just mouthing the words 'pot of herbs'. Tigress, on the other hand, was unfazed.

"You know this place?"

"Do I _ever_? I've seen all this dirt more times than my own reflection! A home away from home, really."

"Weren't you an orphan?" Po asked, and Tigress hissed at him. The panda realized his mistake, "Right, that's kinda not a cool thing to say…"

Bao just snorted and waved it away.

"Yes, but the orphanage was only a home in name. Most my days and nights were spent within these walls, in the company of a _certain_ jerk."

"Wait, so you mean this place is Cran - oh."

"Yup, welcome to the Lei compound," the bird raised his voice sarcastically. He sighed, both his shoulders and his voice dropping, "Whatever is going on, it's turning worryingly personal."

The dark figure had been just standing there, his concealed limbs moving in front of his face. It was way too dark for even Tigress to make out the action, or the features of the person. Soon though, the barely audible sound of _moaning_ reached their ears, followed by a sniff and… weeping? The tiger looked down in thought for a moment, before opening her mouth;

"Say, Luo… What is that shack for exactly?"

Bao scrutinized the building. "Ah yes, the 'forbidden walls'. I remember Jia's parents explicitly telling us not to step there. _Ever_."

"But you did, didn't you?" Po asked curiously.

The avian scoffed. "Tell me one instance when commanding two teenagers not to do something _ever_ sprouted results." he jabbed back with a wink, before turning back to the building, "After we were found out, we got the usual lecture and the such, but Qiang was nice enough to let us in a secret or two. Apparently, it's the Lei family's very own mausoleum."

Tigress looked at him, thoughts racing behind those amber pools of hers. The dark figure moved, and much to her surprise; it ascended into the sky.

" _That's cool…_ What's a maosu-thingy?" Po asked.

"Ma-u-so-le-um. Place where the remnants of dead people go for safekeeping."

The panda blinked at him. "Why would anyone want to keep those? That's gross."

The bird's wings came together in a clap. "I think we just unraveled our phrase of the day! Say _hello_ to 'sensitive semantics'!" he smirked, then shrugged in a carefree manner, "But for real, I never had anyone close to me die, so... I wouldn't know."

The atmosphere changed then. The casualty they conversed with melted down as their hands and wings simultaneously came up to their ears. A low ringing pierced through their thoughts suddenly, one that resonated deep inside their heads.

"What the…"

In a flash, the air became suffocatingly dense. Bao and Po, not expecting it, began coughing for precious breath - Tigress cleared her throat, the change bothering her less. Then the events continued when a powerful pulse bypassed them. It went through their bodies, making the fur and feather on their spines stand up in instinctual fright, before a short earthquake shook their tree. Po almost lost his balance, but his friends kept him upright. They all snapped their attention to the now discovered mausoleum, and their eyes widened; like if it were trying to run away from something, blinding light escaped through the once dark windows. Then, for the third time that day, a door was rendered useless.

Neither did it break into two nor was it forcefully snapped out of its hinges, no; the door of the mausoleum straight up blew outwards.

The three people in the tree could only watch with a mix of fear and wonder as a large, fiery lance flew out the building with incredible speed. The flames the lance emitted were so bright, it gave an almost day-like lighting to the entire street. They watched it sizzle and fly upwards swiftly, traversing through the air like a large, targeted firework.

Once it left their proximity, the three of them jumped out of the tree. Their eyes tracked the spectacle, and soon, they all bared shocked witness to the living flame impact with the robed, dark figure mid-air. The neighborhood shook from the shrill, almost otherworldly cry of something undeniably avian, though whether it came from the lance or from the figure, it was unknown. After the impact, the brightness grabbed the dark figure and dragged it to the ground.

Bao, Tigress and Po shared a look, before all three of them took off running or flying in haste. They dodged corners, hopped over walls, entire buildings, and soared over other high-reaching trees, until they reached the street three compounds away from where they came from. The middle of the dirt road was no more, a crater disrupting its continuousness. The center of the crater was still smoking, the dust was still settling. Amids the dust and smoke, they could make out something still burning with ever-living flames. Tigress took up a fighting stance upon noticing it approaching the edge of the crater. Po glanced at her and gulped; yet he was already standing ready like his fellow Master. They surrounded Bao from both sides, the bird's muscles ready to bolt.

Then the fire exited the smoke.

The stances they just took up went aloof when they came face to face with Crane, his wings engulfed in hot flames. What truly shocked them was the person who had their own winged appendage around Crane's shoulders, helping him stand; it was none other the Qiang himself, the older bird sporting a burnt patch on his yellow robe.

"Come on, son… let's go home…" they heard the pained words of the Emperor himself.

Crane's eyes had been hazy from the impact, but they shone up upon hearing this, and he ripped himself out of his father's gentle embrace with new vigor. He stepped back from his gobsmacked father, his entire body beginning to shake in seething rage. They did not notice the three spectators so far.

"Y-you know what this is?" their angry friend snapped, proposing an earthenware out of thin air. The ceramics was big enough so that Crane needed to hold it with both his wings, and was coated in gold dust - though thanks to the burning appendages that held it, they began turning a toxic yellow.

Even Po knew what that was; their friend was holding an urn.

Qiang's frightened eyes watched the sight that his son was. His eyes kept watching the urn, but they occasionally drafted to those Phoenix-like wings and the glowing eyes. In the back of her mind, Tigress thought about how problematic it will be when Qiang started having questions about why his son was the way he was. The tense silence kept on stretching itself, only the crackling of the fire on the avian Master's wing and in the crater gave background noise. Qiang hesitated to open his beak, his talons grasping the soil under his feet and letting go.

"…I do. I'm truly sorry, son."

Crane's anger drained away from his face. A droplet of tear braved the dangerous journey from his left eye. Simultaneously, the flames on his appendages flickered away, leaving behind just enough cinder to see him.

"H-how… when?" the avian Master whimpered, his numb shoulder dropping.

Qiang didn't answer.

"Answer me, dad!" and only now did just the older bird gulp, his own sadness clouding his eyes.

"I… She…" his pain-strained voice groaned. The word 'she' was the last piece of the puzzle Tigress needed. She had to cover her mouth, not to accidentally break the moment with a startled noise.

"…It happened when the city was attacked," the crying Emperor continued, "She was with me, in the palace when the bandits breached. She… was caught up in the fights. Didn't make it."

While Crane absorbed the words, his look trailed down to the well-crafted piece of porcelain he held. He choked on a cry as fresh tears burst out of his eyes, rapidly drenching his facial feathers. He collapsed backwards, landing on his tail feathers, gripping the Urn close to his chest.

"Why d-didn't you tell m-me? You said she was f-fine, w-why… did you lie?" he could barely form words anymore. His throat was heavy from the knot of emotions, even breathing felt like drinking dense, hot honey. Tigress idly noted a string of water sneaking out of nearby lonely well, doing a mesmerizing, slow dance.

"I'm sorry, darling Jia. I wanted to tell you, I really did, but… I didn't want to cloud you with grief b-before, w-well, the tournament. Didn't want it to influence you at such a time of need…" Qiang said, not an ounce of trickery in his voice, only unfiltered regret.

The crater's fire flickered away in the background, leaving room for Crane's desperate sobs and hiccups to freely fill up the space. He was so lost in his grief, he didn't even jump when Bao sat down next to him and hugged him from the side. Instead, he melted right into his best friend's wings, his neck resting on the familiar shoulder as he kept the urn close to his heart. Tigress and Po stepped to the other side, the panda's arm patting his broken friend. Neither he nor the tiger looked excited to speak up.

Qiang stood alone between the crater and his Jia. His head dropped too, his own grief desperate to explode like his son's did, but he held strong; it was not his time to shed tears; he had already had his fill a time ago. If he had been looking up and paying attention, he may have noticed the hateful glare directed his way. With both fires no more, Bao's glower was the only thing burning with promises of pain and suffering behind them. And as he let his tunic be soaked in tears, clutching to his side the only person left who ever showed him genuine love, and to whom he ever felt love back, he thought;

_Well, would you look at that? Daddy Qiang has skeletons in his closet… pity he made it from rotten wood, they have a tendency to_ _**burn** _ **.**


End file.
